


La La Land

by tokyocherry



Series: Love Is War [5]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Actors, Aged up characters, Backstory, Extreme angst, M/M, Melodrama, Mention of ITZY members, Past, devastating, extreme fluff, finale, rich beomgyu, sookai, taejun managers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25183501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokyocherry/pseuds/tokyocherry
Summary: The two actors finally reveal the root of their rivalry. Kai enlists the help of unexpected people for one final scheme to get Soobin back.
Relationships: Choi Soobin & Huening Kai, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Series: Love Is War [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736320
Comments: 21
Kudos: 137





	1. Someone In The Crowd

**Author's Note:**

> hello!
> 
> i'm finally back with the finale of the Love Is War series! I hope you guys are ready for a rollercoaster ride.
> 
> just to be clear since i forgot to mention this in the first parts (sorry!), in this story they are both aged up a bit. Kai is 27 and Soobin is 29. 
> 
> that is all, hope you enjoy!

The drive back to Yeonjun’s apartment was expectedly quiet. The older boy couldn’t help but look over to the teary-eyed boy on his passenger seat still covered with his own vomit. Kai was silent as a grave, huddled over himself and fidgeting with the grape juice bottle his manager had bought him.

To say he felt bad for him would be an understatement. Being Kai’s manager for about 5 years now, this was one of the moments where he had strongly sensed the stench of defeat. He has seen Kai get depressed when his acting was off for the day or when he fails to get a call back on his auditions. But nothing could amount to how he was looking tonight.

Yeonjun’s hands hovers over Kai’s head before gently ruffling the soft brown curls.

“We’re here, buddy.”

Kai takes a glance outside to confirm his words. Yeonjun had a _gorgeous_ apartment, which wasn’t a suprise as he was the manager of many successful clients. Kai had stayed in his apartment a lot, especially when he was just starting out as a young budding actor. There were a lot of good memories in this place.

His eyes drift towards the 3rd floor where Yeonjun’s apartment was situated and notices that the lights were currently turned on.

“Jjunie-hyung, you left your lights on again...” Kai murmurs, slipping out his car.

Yeonjun exits the car in panic, checking the window Kai had mentioned. He hurriedly types a quick text to his phone.

_‘Shit, I forgot he was still there.’_

“Kai-ya, you wanna get some fast food first? It’s just around the corner.” Yeonjun suggests nervously.

Kai shakes his head. “No thanks, hyung. I’d rather get cleaned up first.”

“Ah...yes, of course.”

He takes one last look at the newly dimmed window before taking Kai into the building. Inside, the people around them turn their heads to stare at Kai’s dirty state. But the boy just focused on walking straight, not caring about anyone else right now. He just wanted to get to Yeonjun’s apartment already.

They ride the elevator quietly with a soft top 40 tune playing in the background. 

“Hyung, are you really going to help me?” Kai asks in a silent voice.

“What are you saying?” Yeonjun raises his eyebrow at him. “ _Of course_ I will.”

“It’s just...I feel bad that I’m causing you more problems. I must be a terrible client.”

Yeonjun sighs, side hugging Kai.

“Stop it. I’m happy to help you with this.” He chuckles. “Plus, you definitely aren’t my worst client. You should’ve seen how Hwayo--“

Suddenly, the elevator dings open to the third floor and they come face to face with a sweaty Taehyun.

“ _T--Taehyunnie?_ What were you doing here?” Kai asks, completely baffled to see Soobin’s manager in Yeonjun’s apartment building.

Taehyun’s eyes briefly meet Yeonjun’s panicked ones before fleeting back to Kai’s.

“Oh, I--I was just picking up some scripts from Yeonjun-hyung. Don’t worry about it, I’m gonna head out now.”

Kai puts a hand on Taehyun’s arm, stopping him. “Wait, now that you’re here, can I ask for your help?”

Taehyun bites his lip. “What kind of help do you need?”

“I have some...things to settle with Soobin and since you’ve been his manager for a long time you must know a lot about him.“ Kai begs, eyes wide. “I’m gonna explain everything later if you agree.”

Taehyun gazes unsurely at Yeonjun who just gives him a shrug in response. He lets out a sigh.

“Fine.”

* * *

After being given a fresh set of clothes and some moist towels, Kai enters Yeonjun’s bathroom. He turns on the light, cringing at the bright flash. He drags himself over to the mirror by the sink.

After seeing his appearance, he jumps back a bit in fright.

He looked like he had been thrown down in the dumps multiple times. His hair was disheveled, his face had dirt smudges and his jacket had plenty of bits and pieces reminiscent of his lunch. His eyes also looked droopy, red and swollen from being wiped too much. In other words, he looked like absolute crap.

He takes his time washing up, thinking about what to tell the two managers waiting outside in the living room. Kai thought it was still pretty weird they had crossed paths with Taehyun especially at this time.

Once he had finished changing, he puts on one of Yeonjun’s hoodies and joins them in the living room. Kai’s ears perk up at the conversation the two were currently having. He slows down his pace, tiptoeing closer to them.

“Are you sure he’s okay?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well, if he’s not then maybe we should tell him about--“

“No, we can’t. We promised that we won’t interfere--“

Kai clears his throat behind them, crossing his arms. “What are you two talking about?”

Yeonjun’s flashes him a goofy smile and makes space for him on the sofa. “It’s just work stuff. Now, come sit and let’s talk.” Taehyun glares at the older boy before moving aside.

Kai nods and takes a seat between them.

“So…”

“So?”

Taehyun looks at him expectantly. “Can you explain to me what’s going on?”

Kai takes a deep breath, his hands quivering. “Don’t act too shocked by what I’m about to say, okay?”

Taehyun nods, preparing himself.

“I uh I like Soobin.” Kai says in one exhale. He peers to see Taehyun’s reaction who didn’t even move a face muscle.

“Okay and?” He asks boredly.

Kai starts sweating. “No, I mean I like, _LIKE like_ , Soobin.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Huh? I thought you’d be more surprised.” Kai tilts his head in confusion.

Taehyun rolls his eyes, a smug smile tugging on his lips. “Kai, literally _everyone_ with eyes and ears can see how you’re head over heels for him.”

Kai blushes, feeling embarrassed.

“What do you mean? I’m not--We weren’t--I wasn’t being obvious about it!” He squeaks out, his cheeks turning pink. “Am I really the last one to figure that out?”

“Yes,” Taehyun and Yeonjun answer him at the same time.

Kai crosses his arms, pouting. “Okay then. Well, I need your help, Taehyun-ah.”

“What do you need help with?”

“We have to break Soobin and Yeji up.” Kai says firmly. Yeonjun and Taehyun’s eyes meet again for a split second.

Taehyun crinkles his nose, grimacing at the younger boy.

“I don’t know about that, Kai. Their relationship is gaining a lot of positive traction online.” Taehyun shrugs. “There’s a high probability of it boosting our ratings.”

Kai edges closer to him, shoulders trembling. “B--But-“

Yeonjun finishes for him. “Taehyun, we should help him. He and Soobin have a long history together. It might give both of them peace.”

“Really? How long have you and Soobin known each other?”

“I think around a decade ago.” Kai smiles sadly, memories flooding his brain. “We were um high school lovers.”

Taehyun looks at him, biting his lip.

“Is it okay if you share your past with us? It might help me change my mind.” He inquires, speaking in a softer tone.

Kai mulls it over for a moment, taking deep breaths. After a while, he nods and sits himself more comfortably on the sofa.

“If it’ll help convince you then fine. It all started--“

“Wait! Lemme get some popcorn first.” Yeonjun cuts him off, bouncing away to the kitchen. Kai and Taehyun roll their eyes.

Yeonjun returns later, putting a large bowl on the coffee table for all of them to reach into.

“Okay, we’re good now.” He confirms to the two slightly annoyed people.

“Great...” Kai sighs. “Anyway, buckle up. This is the _tragic_ love story between two young boys with big dreams.”

* * *

The school bell’s loud ring echoes throughout the hallways, alerting the students from the different classrooms that the school day has ended.

“ _Thank god!”_ 17 year old Kai huffs out. “I thought I was gonna go crazy having to listen to Professor Yoon talk about dynamical systems and differential equations.” An exhausted yawn escapes the boy as they make their way through the hallways. “I miss the PENPAS days. It’s 2010, they should have at least invented something to make math easier!”

19 year old Soobin laughs at his boyfriend, wrapping his arm around him and pulling the shorter boy closer.

“Babe, first of all, it’s _PEMDAS_.” He starts, making Kai shoot him a pout. “And second of all, it’s our final school year here! You don’t have to worry about maths soon.”

Kai nods in agreement. “You’re right! We’re finally gonna be free from this hellhole. I can’t wait to finally chase my dream and be a real actor.”

“You mean _our*_ dream, plus you’re already a real actor!” Soobin nudges his head.

“School plays don’t count, hyung.” Kai scowls at him.

They quickly get up on the 3rd floor where their club room was located.

“Of course they do! Even your parents have told you that multiple times.” Soobin reminds him. “At least your parents come to the school plays we have...” He trails off. Soobin’s parents were never that supportive with his acting activities.

Kai peeks at his crestfallen face before hugging him tightly. “They’ll come around, hyung. I promise.”

Soobin hugs him back weakly before fishing the club room key in his bag. “It’s okay, Kai. I’m kinda used to them not taking my dream seriously.”

He fits in the key inside the hole and unlocks their room. Kai puffs his cheek out, not satisfied with Soobin’s response.

“They’re gonna pay for their words by the way. We’ll make sure that in the future we become real actors then when we’ll have our own movies, we’ll invite them to the premier and shove our success in their faces!” He says aggressively, stomping cutely around the room. “That’ll prove them wrong!”

Soobin stares at his boyfriend in admiration. He moves closer to Kai, grabs him by the waist and places the most delicate kiss on his lips.

“I love you.”

Kai’s expression changes in an instant, pastel pink blush adorning his cheeks.

“I--I love you too, hmph.” He shyly replies. Soobin beams at him and smooshes their cheeks together.

“That’s my cute little lump of flour!” Soobin gushes and pecks his cheek. “Don’t be mad now okay? We still have to practice for the next school play.”

Kai nods hesitantly, cheeks still burning from his boyfriend’s words. He breaks off from their hug after sensing the other actors about to arrive.

“Let’s do a good job today!”

* * *

Yeji stabs the pasta with her fork before swirling it up for easier consumption.

“You mean to tell me that you and Kai used to be boyfriends? In highschool?” She asks, surprised.

During dinner, Yeji had asked him more details about his relationship with Kai. Soobin decided to tell her a bit about their past together.

“Yeah,” Soobin sighs, a sad smile painted on his face. “The two of us were _inseparable._ We literally did everything together. In fact, our classmates even gave us the title _‘Chewing gum’_ because of how stuck we are to each other.”

“That’s adorable!” Yeji giggles at that. “So, what happened then? How’d your relationship turn out this way?”

“Well,” Soobin sets down his cutlery to take a sip from his wine glass. “From what I can remember, everything changed when we received a news during our Friday night movie watching sessions.”

* * *

The soft static of the television hummed softly in the background at Kai’s room in the basement of his house. Soobin lays his huge body on the run-down couch, flipping through some of his magazines in boredom. Kai had gone upstairs to gather some snacks for them leaving him alone.

They started this tradition even before they got together. Every Fridays, they would come down to Kai’s basement to watch films. To be fair, they alternate between who gets to pick the movies. During these nights, they often rewatch old classic movies like Bossanova and The Breakfast Club. Other times, they venture out and watch movies that flopped, no matter how bad it is. They reason out that there will always be some classics hidden in there.

He puts down the magazines and picks up the DVD case on the coffee table. It was a copy of “Memories of Murder” directed by Bong Joon Ho.

Soobin smiles knowingly _. ‘Of course Kai had picked another Bong Joon Ho film for tonight.’_

Kai was _obsessed_ with Bong Joon Ho and his films. He would always geek out to him whenever any new projects the director was involved in would come out. Soobin had also spent many nights listening to him rant about how underrated he is and how he deserves all the accolades in the world.

Soobin prepares the television and pops the CD inside the player. It really has been a while since he had last seen the movie so he doesn’t really mind. Plus, he’s willing to do anything to make his boyfriend happy.

After a while, Kai finally comes back down to the basement carrying a big bottle of grape juice and some chips.

“Sorry for the long wait! Mom just got home and had me do some errands around the house.”

Soobin shakes his head. “It’s fine. Now come sit beside me, baby boy. I’m starting to feel way too chilly.”

“I’m really just a heat pack for you, huh?” Kai giggles, setting down the snacks in front of them. He jumps into Soobin’s arms, burying his face in Soobin’s neck. His hands wrap around the older boy’s neck to drag him for a quick kiss.

When Kai pulls back however, Soobin instantly reconnects their faces. He tilts his head, kissing the other boy deeply. His hands roam the expanse of his back, settling on his waist.

Soobin moves him to a horizontal position, laying Kai’s head on one of the throw pillows. He breaks the kiss momentarily to press fluttering kisses on every surface of his boyfriend’s face.

“H—hyung, the movie...” Kai lets out a whimper, turning away from him.

Soobin stares at him in pure disbelief before collapsing on top, laughter over taking him.

“Are you kidding me? I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you are choosing _Bong Joon Ho_ over your boyfriend.” Soobin snickers, moving away from him to sit properly.

Kai rises up, blushing. “I—I’m not! I just didn’t want this movie to go to waste, I have to return it by tomorrow.”

Soobin raises his hands up in defeat. “You don’t have to explain. I understand.” He says solemnly.

Kai leans over to him, kissing him on the cheek. “How about this? If you can behave yourself throughout the movie, then I might change my mind.”

Soobin smirks, pressing the play button on the remote.

“Deal.”

They settle on a comfortable position which is wrapped in each other’s arms as the movie started to play.

The reason why Soobin loves Fridays the most because of the opportunity to combine the two things he loves the most: Kai and movies. Not only can they spend time with each other but they also get more motivated and inspired to pursue their acting careers. They can’t help but dream that someday, some teenage kids will be renting a movie they’ll star in.

There’s something incredibly exciting about the prospect of inspiring children to be actors just like them.

Soobin sighs, chowing down the snacks. He sneaks a glance at his boyfriend who was currently beyond engrossed in the movie. One of his favorite habits to do while watching movies is to peep Kai’s reaction. He loves how absolutely animated his boyfriend is. The way his face contorts into these different emotions makes Soobin have confidence that Kai will be a recognized actor.

Halfway through the movie, the basement door unexpectedly opens.

“Kai-ya!” His mother calls for him.

Kai hops off the couch and heads up the stairs. Soobin pauses the movie, and uses the free time to stretch out his long limbs.

Suddenly, a piercing scream fills the air.

Soobin looks back worriedly at the basement stairs to see a quick flash of a boy running towards him. Kai buries his head in Soobin’s chest, squealing excitedly.

“What happened, baby?” Soobin asks, raising his eyebrow at the younger boy’s behavior.

Kai looks up at him, unshed tears in his eyes. He raises his hand to show Soobin two envelopes, one for each of them, both marked with the seal from the Los Angeles Academy of Music and Arts.

“Holy shit!” He grabs one from Kai’s hands, spinning it around delicately. “Are these...acceptance letters?”

Kai nods blissfully.

“Let’s open it!”

Kai carefully unravels the parchment and begins a dramatic read of the letter.

> **“Dear Mr. Huening Kai,**
> 
> **Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that we inform you of your acceptance to the Fine Arts program at the Los Angeles Academy of Music and Arts. You have been given this opportunity in recognition of your personal, extracurricular and scholastic achievements.**
> 
> **We have enclosed a starter package with this letter so you can familiarize yourself with the campus and the opportunities and facilities we offer. Feel free to reach out to us at any time, and we would like to make the transition as easy as possible.**
> 
> **We look forward to having you at our university this upcoming 2010 academic year!”**

The two boys squeal loudly, the both of them feeling over the moon about the news. Soobin engulfs the smaller boy in an embrace, feeling elated. They were finally taking one step closer to achieving their dream. They could barely believe it.

They spend the rest of the night crying and celebrating with Huening family.

However, the Choi family weren’t so happy about it.

The moment Soobin had revealed that he had gotten into the acting school, his parents had bombarded him with questions about the integrity of the university. His parents were business-oriented people who didn’t understand the arts. They didn’t care about creativity or being expressive. All their attention was on making money with their business.

Their original plan was to put him through a business program in one of the good colleges around where they live. But, Soobin, along with many others, helped persuade them in allowing him to apply for this school. Now that Soobin had actually succeeded in getting into this school, this would mean their plan of turning him into a business man was getting derailed.

Kai hugged Soobin tightly that night as he sobbed on his shoulder. Together, the two talked about all their insecurities and deep fears about the future. Soobin dreads that they won’t become successful. Kai’s afraid that fame will change their relationship.

They were both glad they had each other. Only Kai could understand Soobin the best and vice versa.

* * *

“Man, I almost forgot how Soobin’s parents were really _really_ unsupportive of him.” Yeonjun comments, stuffing his mouth with popcorn.

Kai nods, crossing his arms. “I hated his parents.” He spat out. “They were so unfair to him. Get this, not even _once_ did they go to any of our school plays to watch Soobin. Can you believe that?”

Taehyun clenches his fist, gritting his teeth. “I can’t. That is seriously messed up.”

“Yeah,” Yeonjun agrees. “I feel bad for Soobin.”

Kai snorts. “Don’t feel too bad for him. We haven’t even gotten to the terrible parts.”

* * *

Kai sits on one of the school benches, scribbling on his journal. He had written down numerous activities for Soobin and him to do when they arrive at Los Angeles. They were definitely going to check out the Hollywood sign, and all the different studios such as Paramount pictures, Universal, and Warner brothers.

According to his research, Los Angeles is one of most popular places for aspiring actors, especially in the film industry. Kai can’t hold back his excitement. Who knows what’ll happen to them? What if they meet some of the people they’ve seen in the movies? What if they got street casted? The possibilities are endless.

He continues daydreaming, barely noticing his boyfriend arrive and seat beside him. He snaps out of his hollywood-dream trance when Soobin starts waving his gigantic hand in front of him.

“Earth to Kai?” He snickers before pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “What’chu thinking about? You look like you were really deep in thought.”

Kai grins at him, showing the journal. “Oh it’s nothing. I was just daydreaming about the things we’ll be getting up to once we’ll be in LA.”

“Oooh, using the acronym now huh? You sound like a local already.”

Kai laughs at him. “Shut up. How about you, are you excited?”

“Of course!” He replies. “Can’t wait to spend four years with you in La La Land.”

“La La land?” Kai raises his eyebrow, amused. He’d read somewhere that it was nicknamed ‘La La land’, because apprently it was a place of fun, excitement and where you can be out of touch with reality.

“You’re not the only one who did research y’know.” Soobin wiggles his body teasingly. Kai giggles breathily and rubs his stomach.

“Cute...”

“Oh!” Soobin abruptly says, having remembered something. “Beomgyu invited us to pre-graduation party.”

“Really? His father will let us simple commoners inside their mansion?”

“Come on, quit it.” Soobin pinches his cheeks. “Now that I think about it, I think it was actually his father’s idea.”

“Really?”

“You know how his father’s a network executive right?” Kai nods along before Soobin continues. “Apparently, their agency just had a successful actor sign to them so they’re having a celebration.”

“And Beomie-hyung asked his dad to throw him a pre-graduation party at the same time?”

“Most probably,” Soobin giggles. “So, we’re going right?”

Kai beams at him. “Of course! Can you _imagine_ being surrounded by people who work at an entertainment agency? What if we get street asted?” He excitedly gushes. “We have got to be on our best behavior.”

“That’s the spirit!”

And with that, the two boys dressed up with the cutest but casual clothes that they have. Together, they walk up to the big gate at the Choi Mansion, their hearts beating fast. They look around for a while and notices a guard tower on each side. They stand back, a bit intimidated.

Using a megaphone, one of the guards spoke to them.

“What is your business with the Choi family?” He bellows out with a bit of a threatening tone.

_‘Wow, straight to the point huh?’_

“We were invited by Choi Beomgyu for the party?” Soobin nervously replies, holding up letters of invitation. “We have proof of his invites.”

“What are your names?”

“We are Choi Soobin and Huening Kai.” Kai responds, clinging to Soobin tighter. “We’re Beomie-hyung’s friends.

One of the guards briefly check the list on his hands before giving a thumbs up to his partner on the opposite wall.

“Very well. Please enter quietly and calmly. Proceed to the waiting stations to sign your name in.”

The two let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding in. They can only stare in amazement as the giant gate start to open with a loud creak. Their jaws drop at the large expanse of land they were currently about to walk into.

It looks exactly like how a rich person’s land would look like. Various art structures are sprawled out on the field, perfectly trimmed hedges separate some of the areas and a large silver fountain sprouted crystal clear water in the middle.

Soobin points at the gorgeous array of cars displayed on the car park.

“Do you think those belong to the workers from Beomgyu’s father’s agency?” Kai asks, heavily impressed.

“Probably,” Soobin holds Kai’s hands. “I’m kind of getting nervous if we somehow get to meet one of them.”

“Me too...” Kai agrees. “We should probably just stick with our own kind. Just to be safe.” There was no way he would even have the courage to talk to anyone here other than his friends.

From afar they could already see some people inside the mansion. Intricate piano music bounced off the walls and tickled their ear drums. They could also hear people chattering to themselves. They carefully climb the obnoxiously long staircase to the front door.

A very well-dressed butler immediately greets them, carrying two cola drinks. “Were you two invited by Master Beomgyu?” He asks, in a weird accent that the both of them can’t recognize.

_‘Master Beomgyu?’_

“Uh yes, sir!” Soobin responds politely. The butler smiles at them and steps aside to let them in.

“Splendid! If you would...” He motions for the two to follow him.

The boys follow Beomgyu’s butler like lost puppies, their heads spinning in every direction as they try to take in the magnificent estate from the inside. You could probably steal one thing from here and not have to worry about money for a couple of years.

They also spot the various attendees that Beomgyu’s father had invited. Everyone else was dressed in much fancier attire and they had much more mature drinks in hand, compared to their cola. They paired the two high school boys no mind as they chatted to themselves and danced around the center floor.

After a whole ten minutes of walking through what seemed like endless hallways and rooms, the butler finally leads them to the outdoor pool area where people who they recognize as their schoolmates were situated.

“Thank you again for helping us out, sir!” Kai grins.

“It was my pleasure.” The butler bows at them. “Also, Master Beomgyu wanted me to remind all his guests to avoid walking into his father’s party. He mentioned that it might get him into trouble if a certain line is crossed.”

Soobin and Kai nod in understanding. “We promise.”

“Very well then. Enjoy the party!” The butler says cheerily before leaving them alone.

“I guess you were right, Kai.” Soobin speaks up. “We shouldn’t get our hopes up about getting scouted here.”

“Yeah, we don’t wanna get kicked out or anything by those scary guards at front.” Kai shudders. “So, shall we?” He beams at the other boy, pulling him forward excitedly.

Soobin chuckles at his energetic boyfriend and catches up to him.

They enter the large pool area, gawking at how cool everything looked. It was almost as if it was out of those teen magazines they had been reading. Decorations ranging from streamers, balloons, pool floaties were scattered around the area. A large buffet table was placed at the back and a DJ was situated on one of the corners, blasting out the latest hits.

All their schoolmates seemed to be in their element. There were obnoxious yelling, people getting pushed into the pool and bodies swaying on the dance floor.

Soobin hums along to Lady Gaga’s LoveGame as they stroll along the area, trying to find Beomgyu. They find their friend smack dab in the middle of the dance floor, showing off his favorite moves which happened to be a variation of Beyonce’s Single Ladies choreography.

Kai stifles his laughter as he tapped Beomgyu’s shoulder to call his attention.

“Beomie-hyung?”

Beomgyu’s eyes light up upon seeing the both of them.

“You guys finally arrived!” He wraps them both in a hug, still moving to the beat. “What took you so long?”

“You know how absolutely _massive_ your place is right?” Soobin chuckles at his friend. “It basically took us so long just to walk here.”

“Oh you guys didn’t take the _golf carts?_ ” Beomgyu swats his hand on Soobin’s chest. “I’m gonna tell the guards off later for not telling you guys, don’t worry.”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary, hyung.” Kai latches his hands on Soobin’s stomach, rubbing back and forth. “We both needed the exercise, anyways.”

Soobin glares playfully at his boyfriend. Kai gives his shoulder a kiss, smiling innocently.

“Great! Okay so, the refreshments are over there--“ Beomgyu motions to the table behind them. “feel free to dance anytime here, and just grab any floaty if you wanna play in the pool.”

Soobin and Kai nod in understanding, excitedly looking around.

“Oh!” Beomgyu adds on. “Dad said we can party up until they finish up inside, but it’s absolutely off limits. Something about teenagers taking advantage of the scouting agents.”

“Oh yeah the butler reminded us about it too, I didn’t know your dad was really strict about that...”

Beomgyu shrugs. “Yeah, they kind of ran into a problem in the past with a stalker who wouldn’t stop harassing one of his agents. Apparently, they kept asking to be scouted and even followed the agent to their home so this is just Dad being more cautious this time.”

Kai has heard of people like that before. People so desperate to get into the entertainment industry that they’re willing to do anything, even overlooking basic human decency, just to get a shot.

“You got it!” Kai says enthusiastically. “We’ll stay out of their way.”

And with that, the two boys spend the rest of their afternoon at Beomgyu’s pool party. They spent their fair time at the dance floor, ate a good portion of candy available, and chatted with their other friends and classmates.

At the end of the day when the party was starting to calm down, the two boys use the opportunity to chill on the pool. Kai grabs a giant mint green floaty and tells Soobin to climb on in first. Then, he places himself between his lap, laying his back on Soobin’s chest. Kai uses his feet to push them to the center of Beomgyu’s pool.

The two look up at the sky, feeling contented. The blue and slightly orange sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze. The pool shimmered in the heat of the afternoon sun.

Soobin looks down endearingly at his boyfriend, smiling at how at peace he looked.

“What are you thinking about, baby boy?” Soobin asks, caressing his cheeks.

Kai smiles from to ear to ear, leaning comfortably to Soobin’s hand.

“I don’t know...I just want things to stay like this forever.” Kai confesses. “The future seems so unsure to me right now and... I’m _terrified_ of things changing.”

Soobin leans back, sighing.

“But isn’t change kind of a good thing as well?” He replies. “As much as it is terrifying, we _must_ embrace change. You’ll never know what kind of things we’re missing out on if we just stay in our little box.”

“Soobinie-hyung, you’re gonna make me have an existential crisis in the middle of a party!” Kai whines cutely making Soobin laugh.

“I’m sorry!” He squeezes Kai tightly. “I still agree with you though. I hope we’re still gonna be together. Heck, I _know_ we will.”

Kai blushes, his heart quickening in pace.

“Where do you wanna be when we grow older?”

Soobin drums his fingers on Kai’s arm, deep in thought.

“To be completely honest, I don’t care where we are. I’m fine with anywhere as long as I get to be with you. You’re my happy place, angel.” Soobin confesses. “How about you?”

“Me?” Kai croaks out. He totally wasn’t about to burst in tears at Soobin’s answer. “I think...Hawaii!”

Soobin smiles from ear to ear, amused.

“Hawaii?”

“Heck yeah! I was born there, y’know.” Kai sighs sadly. After some complications, his family had to leave Hawaii and stay in Korea instead. Kai was around 5 when they moved. “Someday, I wanna go back and live there.”

Soobin pictures it in his head, the two of them spending the rest of their lives in a big house by the beach, just the two of them. He couldn’t think of a better life.

“How about this?” Soobin starts a proposal. “When we get totally rich and famous and become millionaires...we should retire in Hawaii! Just you and me.”

Kai sits up to gaze at him brightly, his eyes twinkling.

“You promise, hyung?”

_“I promise.”_

Kai lays back down, his heart full and his mind full of pleasant thoughts about their future. _‘Someday...’_

Soobin notices his boyfriend nibbling on a candy strip he grabbed from the table. “Hey, can I have one?” he asks, trying to snatch Kai’s candy.

“Hyung, you should have grabbed one.” He fishes out his extra candy and hands it over to him. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Soobin pinches his cheeks, smugly grabbing the candy. “Aww, I like you too baby.” He unwraps the candy and starts consuming the sugary product.

Suddenly, Beomgyu comes running by the side of the pool, calling their attention.

“I got the camera out! Let’s take some pictures for keepsakes.” He points the camera at the two boys on the floaty, candy wrappers in hand.

“Say _cheese_!”

* * *

“You guys planned to go to Hawaii?” Yeji raises her eyebrow.

Soobin shrugs. “Why not? It’s a beautiful place. Plus, the living costs are a lot better now. It wasn’t that farfetched of a dream.”

“I guess so...” Yeji trails off. “Why are you even telling me about this party? How is it relevant to your story?”

Soobin takes a long sip from his wine glass.

“It’s what happened _after_ the party.” Soobin bitterly looks off into the distance. “After that moment, my life was never the same.”

* * *

The party finally stopped at around 9 pm, with most of their classmates already having left because of curfew. After saying their goodbyes to Beomgyu and declining a ride on the infamous golf carts, the two start walking back to the main gate.

They walk on the white pebbled pathway quietly, too tired to talk. Suddenly, Kai gasps as he pats his pants in panic.

“Hyung! I think I left my phone back by the pool. Do you mind waiting for a bit? I’ll be back in no time.”

Soobin nods, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be right here.”

Kai immediately runs back into the mansion, muttering about how clumsy he was to himself. Soobin closes his eyes, standing in the middle of the road. He was beyond exhausted.

 _‘If only it was possible to sleep while standing.’_ He thinks to himself. 

Suddenly, a loud horn jolts him back to reality. He opens his eyes to an extremely bright light hitting him in the face. He squints, subconsciously moving away. The lights dim down to reveal a person’s car. But not just any car, Soobin recognizes this as one of the expensive looking vehicles from the car park. It was probably one that belonged to the attendees of the other party.

Before he knew it, a tall man in a dark suit steps out.

“Are you all right?” He asks worriedly. “You seem to have been very spooked out.”

Soobin shakes his head before bowing repeatedly. “Ah, I apologize, sir. It was my fault for standing in the middle of the road in the first place.”

“Don’t sweat it kid.” He waves his hand.

When Soobin stops bowing, the man gets a better look at his face. He picks his phone up and scrolls through his gallery. The man’s eyes light up as it flutters from his phone to Soobin repeatedly. The younger boy looks at him in confusion.

“Kid, this might be kind of _sudden_ but do you want to be part of a show we’re producing?”

Soobin blinks rapidly, not processing what the man was asking from him.

“I don’t quite get what you mean, sir.”

The man chuckles, moving closer to Soobin. “I’m a casting director for an up and coming show on Mr. Choi’s agency. The show is based off a webtoon so we’re planning on getting the characters as right as possible when it comes to visuals. And you--“ He shows Soobin the picture of a cartoon man on his screen. _“--look exactly like Kim Dong-sook.”_

“A—are you saying I’m getting casted?” Soobin swallows, his throat drying up. He can’t believe this was happening right now.

The casting director shrugs, pulling back his phone. “Well, you’re going to have to undergo an audition first and we’ve only found three other people who has similar features as him but you...you’re like an exact replica. I’m hoping you can act as well.”

Soobin believes his jaw has been open the whole time for this entire interaction.

“I—I don’t know what to say.” Soobin sputters out. “I do act sir! But, I’m an amateur. I don’t know if I’m ready to take on proper roles yet.”

“It’s okay, kid. Just take this.” The casting director hands Soobin a business card. “Give it a shot! You can try sending an audition video to my email and we’ll be sure to take a look at it.”

Soobin shakily takes the card from his hands, staring at it like it was his golden ticket.

“I’ll try my best sir! I won’t let you down.” He firmly says.

The casting director chuckles. “I hope to hear from you soon.” He says before slipping back into his car.

Soobin steps aside and waves goodbye to the car as it drives off. He takes another look at the piece of paper given to him. He twirls it around and geeks out at how professional and official-looking it looked.

Never in a million years would he have guessed to get the chance of being casted randomly. He stares off into space, not knowing what reality was anymore. What the hell is he going to do with this?

“Soobinie-hyung!” He hears his boyfriend cutely call out for him. “I’m back! Sorry I took so long, Beomie-hyung gave me some snacks to take back home.”

Soobin stands still, staring at his boyfriend silently.

“Are you okay?” Kai approaches him, worried. That brings Soobin back to his senses as he gives a forced smile to his boyfriend.

“I’m okay, baby. Just spaced out a bit.” He wraps his arm around Kai, pulling him close. “You ready to go home?”

“Yes, please,” Kai mumbles tiredly, a tiny yawn slipping out of him.

Soobin secretly pockets the card inside his jacket, still unsure of what to do with it.

As time went by and their graduation approached soon, Soobin decided to give the video audition a shot. To be quite frank, he thought he did a _terrible_ job. Like absolute crap. He was sure he’d done around 10 takes already, with most of them filled with him stuttering out words nervously, stiff face expressions, and other blunders.

Having enough, he decides to send the latest take he did to the casting director, not giving a care anymore. He probably wasn’t going to get the callback anyway.

Soobin felt a bit sad about his performance. He never really had a problem with performing on stage in their school plays. Was it because this all felt too real? Was it guilt that’s preventing him to do a good job? Or was he really just not ready yet? Maybe his parents were right and that he really just wasn’t cut out for this.

Soobin lost confidence in that audition. He ended up never telling Kai about it back then as he was afraid of how the other would react. He’s afraid that Kai would feel betrayed, and angry at him for keeping this away for so long. But, the one reaction he was the most scared of was disappointment.

He didn’t want Kai to think he was a failure.

* * *

“Alright, just to recap--“ Taehyun starts. “You and Soobin were high school lovers, you were two of the best actors at your high school which helped you get a scholarship at some acting school in Los Angeles, but then Soobin got ‘ _discovered’_ by an agent at your friend Beomgyu’s party?”

“I--yeah, I’m amazed you could follow all of that.” Kai says, clapping for Taehyun. “With Yeonjun-hyung it took me _at least_ 4 re-tellings before he could follow it.”

Yeonjun flicks a popcorn at Kai’s direction, glaring at him. “Oi! Stop being mean to your manager. Also in my defense, I wasn’t really listening I was too busy being extremely _furious_ at Soobin.”

Taehyun tilts his head, curious. “Extremely furious?”

Kai nods solemnly.

“This was when it all went downhill.”


	2. City Of Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soobin is at a crossroads between choosing four years of college with his boyfriend or a once in a lifetime acting opportunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! i hope you are all well. 
> 
> listen to your favorite sad playlist and grab some tissues. ( ಥ︣ ͜ʖ ಥ︣ )  
> hope you enjoy!

“Alright, just to recap--“ Taehyun starts. “You and Soobin were high school lovers, you were two of the best actors at your high school which helped you get a scholarship at some acting school in Los Angeles, but then Soobin got ‘ _discovered_ ’ by an agent at your friend Beomgyu’s party?”

“I--yeah, I’m amazed you could follow all of that.” Kai says, clapping for Taehyun. “With Yeonjun-hyung it took me _at least_ 4 re-tellings before he could follow it.”

Yeonjun flicks a popcorn at Kai’s direction, glaring at him. “Oi! Stop being mean to your manager. In my defense, I wasn’t really listening because I was too busy being mad at Soobin.”

Taehyun tilts his head, curious.

“Mad?”

Kai nods.

“This was when it all went downhill.”

* * *

Kai sets his suitcase on the foot of his bed having finished re-checking his belongings for the 3rd time. He plops down on the soft mattress, taking a look at his room. Sunlight poured in from the window, illuminating the small space. It was going to be a while before he can see this room again.

He’s heard stories about people having a hard time finding housing in Los Angeles so he was thankful that the University had provided foreign students like them with some proper housing at a reasonable price. One thing he’s unsure of though is if he was going to be roommates with his boyfriend. He’s going to have to ask the Dean about that once they get there.

Kai grabs his Samsung galaxy flip phone, feeling the need to call his boyfriend. It rings for a while before Soobin finally picks it up.

“Baby, how’s packing going?” Kai asks cheerily. He hears Soobin pant heavily from the other end.

“I just finished actually.” He chuckles. “Probably shouldn’t have procrastinated with this.”

“See? Told you should have done it last week like I did...” Kai sighs, shaking his head.

“Yeah yeah, you were right.” Soobin exhales on the other end. “Anyway, we’re gonna meet at the airport later right?”

“Yup! I’m sorry again about not going together, it’s just my mom _really_ wants to me to stay with them as much as possible before we leave.”

Soobin hums. “It’s fine baby, I understand,” He lets out a sad groan. “Kinda wish my parents did the same. All they did was say ‘goodbye’ and ‘goodluck’ to me before they left for work.”

Kai balls his fist up. “Listen to me. Just don’t mind them okay? Today is the turning point of our lives. Once we finish college and get acting jobs, we are going to prove them wrong. They’ll be _begging_ to get your autograph by then!”

Soobin laughs breathily, making Kai smile. He could always count on his boyfriend to cheer him up.

“ _I love you baby_. See you in a few hours?”

“ _I love you back_. And I will.”

Kai ends the call, dropping back down on his bed. He closes his eyes, wanting his brain to properly process everything that was going on. Their dream of going to acting school together was finally going to come true. Kai feels like he could fly.

Just like what he promised his family, he spends the remainder of his time in Korea with them. To his surprise, they threw him a small party, and his mom had even bought him a new camera. Kai was a bit irked at her for spending her hard earned money on him but she insisted that she use it to take nice photos of Los Angeles for them.

The ride to the airport was silent as Kai’s family was trying to cope with the idea of his absence. Kai’s siblings holding onto him tightly, reminding him to never forget them. It sunk in with them that their brother was going to be gone for a few years.

When they finally arrived at the airport, Kai’s parents couldn’t stop their tears as they hugged his son goodbye. Kai sheds his own, muttering words of affirmation to his parents.

“I’ll keep in touch with you guys every single day. I promise!” Kai says, hitching up his duffel bag on his shoulders and grabbing his suitcase. After a final hug goodbye, he heads inside the airport and prepares himself for the flight.

He sits down on one of the benches provided by the airport. Around him, hundreds of people moved quickly, each one having a different reason for being at the airport. He observes them for a while, feeling bored.

He checks his phone for any new messages from Soobin but is in disappointed when he notices the other hasn’t texted him yet. He inspects the time to see that they only have an hour left. He taps his foot impatiently, texting his boyfriend. Where is Soobin?

Kai: **Baby? I’m at the airport already.**

**Are you on your way now?**

**Text me back.**

Kai watches quietly as the clock ticks away. He observes the sun slowly setting from his window view but there was still no sign of Soobin. Getting anxious, he attempts to call his boyfriend again but gets shut down by an automated voice saying he was unavailable.

Kai could feel moistness springing from his eyes, unsure of what happened to his boyfriend. Their flight was coming soon and there was still no sign of him. It was scaring him in more ways than one. Negative thoughts were the last thing that he wanted to entertain.

 _‘Should I even go through with this flight to Los Angeles?’_ Kai shakes his head, dismissing the thought. His parents had spent most of their money on this plane ticket and his travel fees. It’s not like he can just throw all of that away. But then again, he just cannot go without his boyfriend. This was their dream together, it would be unfair to do all of that alone and leave the other behind.

Kai sits restlessly. He feels like his chest was about to explode from nervousness. He couldn’t stay still and his mind was continually betraying him with feeding him possibilities with what happened with Soobin. Even the people around him distanced themselves after noticing how skittish he was being.

 _‘What if he changed his mind? What if his parents stopped him from going at the last second? Or worse, What if he got into an accident?’_ Kai shivers, feeling sick to his stomach.

Kai stands up, ready to get in line so Soobin can just cut with him later. Soobin will still come. He has to trust his boyfriend. He has to trust that Soobin was just running a little late and will arrive soo--

Kai’s phone dings.

Hurriedly, he retrieves it from his pocket, his hands shaking.

The moment he sees **‘Kai, I’m sorry…’** on the top of the message, he knew his whole world had crumbled. The more the message progressed, the more his heart was threatening to drop to the floor. He reaches the bottom of the message.

**‘I’m sorry I can’t make it.’**

Kai’s breath gets stuck in his throat and he felt dizzier by the second. His eyes scan every single word again and again and again but it just didn’t make sense to him. Kai pinches himself to see if he was just daydreaming but nothing happens. This devastating message he got from his boyfriend was real.

Before he knew it, Kai had started sobbing, hard. All the anxiety and nervousness and fears that had accumulated in the afternoon tear him apart. He falls down to the floor, numb to the feeling of his body colliding with the tiled surface.

People’s heads abruptly turn around to face the boy who was currently crying his eyes out in the middle of an airport. Whispers of gossips flood into his ears as they tried to figure out why he was wailing on the floor. Kai ignores the stares of everyone around him. All he could think about was Soobin’s message. It has to be a mistake right? A prank? A joke?

He feels a mixture of emotions. He was mad, confused, hurt, broken, in shock. Good Samaritans flock to him immediately, helping him up and comforting him. In his current state, he was just a blubbering teary mess who can barely walk. He gratefully accepts their offer him to help, just enough until he’s calmed down enough to make his decision.

Kai furrows his eyebrows. _He’s taking the flight._ He can’t let his parents down. He was going through with this, even though he’ll be doing it alone.

The line moves and they start heading inside the plane. Inside, the Stewardess stares at him with sympathy as he was helped into the plane. He shakily settles into his seat, grimacing at the blank one beside him. His eyes squeezes shut with his gaze directed downward. As silently as he can, he continues letting the tears out in his seat. He covers his mouth with his hand to avoid any noise from slipping out.

Kai spends the remainder of the flight weeping to himself. Along the way, he falls asleep from absolute exhaustion. He wakes up to a flight attendant wakes him up, looking at him with concern.

“Sir, we’ve arrived at our destination. The other passengers have left already.”

Kai blinks rapidly, feeling his eyes had gotten swollen. His chin starts to tremble when he remembered where he was. He nods at her, avoiding eye contact.

Shortly after, Kai gets out of the plane and is hit by a new kind of air. He was now in Los Angeles, all alone. Already, he can tell how different the environment was. It was much warmer and noisier than Korea.

It was around early morning in Los Angeles and even then, people were out on the streets already. Pulling his suitcase firmly, he focuses on getting to the University first. He finds a taxi, hops on and uses his knowledge of the English language in telling him where to go.

He sits to himself, thankful that the driver wasn’t making conversation with him. He peeps himself on the rear view mirror. He looked like a whole mess. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were red and swollen, and his face was streaked with tear stains.

When they pass on a bridge, Kai looks out at the window. His jaw drops, heavily mesmerized by the view. Even at early morning, the ground below was alive with lights, like someone had taken a handful of glitter and thrown it as far as the eye could see. It was too dark to make out individual buildings, but the lights were enough to illuminate the view.

Kai sighs, amazed at the view of Los Angeles laid out before him. He understands why this city was nicknamed _‘The City of Stars’._

In a way, it comforted his aching heart. His eyes were meeting the landscape he would be seeing for the next few years. Every single moment would be painted with this beautiful background of the cityscape draped in starlight. For a moment, he had forgotten the reason for his sorrows.

Eventually, the taxi stops in front of this majestic metal gate. It reminds him of Beomgyu’s gate to their mansion: tall, and intimidating but you can’t help but wonder what’s beyond it.

After gathering his things, he steps inside the campus which was to be his home for the next few years... alone. He fidgets with the handle of his suitcase, extremely anxious about doing all of this by himself. Should he have stayed home? Should he have confronted Soobin with what he did to him?

Kai closes his eyes and purses his lips, letting air blow out in frustration. No, he was doing this for his family as well. His family did not just put way too much money and energy to support his dreams for him to back out.

With this in mind, he surges forward with confidence. He was determined to make his family proud. He was dead set on making his dreams come true even if the love of his life abandoned him to do the same.

* * *

Yeji looks at Soobin distastefully, her eyes squinting.

“You did what!?”

Soobin pinches his nose bridge in embarrassment. “I know! I was the most terrible human being. I promise you I loathed myself for years-- _I still do, actually_!”

“I just can’t believe you left your boyfriend to chase your own dreams.” Yeji critiques, shaking her head at him. “And you explained it through _text!_ Who does that? What did you even text him?”

Soobin looks down, playing with his food. It’s been a while since someone had scolded him for this.

“I actually don’t even remember.” He bites his lip. “That memory has been so repressed in my mind, it’s very foggy.”

* * *

Just a few hours before he had to leave to go to the airport, Soobin decides to check his email which he had been completely dreading for the past week. It’s not like he was afraid of rejection, in fact he’s been rejected many times for different roles. It’s just this severe feeling of disappointment knowing that this was the one biggest chance to break into stardom and if you mess it up, an opportunity like this might never pass by again.

With his hands dramatically over his eyes, his cursor hovers over Yahoo mail. Once the website had loaded, he takes a deep breath and peeks at the screen.

To his surprise, the agent replied to his email a day after he sent the audition. Soobin blinks rapidly at his screen. In the email, the agent had mentioned he’ll be in contact with him soon. 

_‘Soon? How soon was ‘soon’?’_ Soobin puts his head in his hands. What is he going to do about this?

He had a lot of mixed feelings about this. Does this mean he was going to be accepted? He was hoping that he won’t get a call before they leave Korea. But also a sick part of him secretly hoped they’ll call before.

An hour passes and Soobin’s predictions were confirmed. Just as he was bringing his luggage downstairs, he receives a call from an unknown number.

He answers the call, breathless. “H--Hello?”

“Kid! We got your audition and we absolutely _loved it_!” The casting guy on the other line says cheerfully. “We need you to come in _right now_ for a second audition in front of the other casting directors.” 

“R--right now?” He asks, alarmed.

“Yes, that’s what I said. Why, you got somewhere else to be?”

Soobin looks down at his suitcase, his mind flooding with anxious thoughts. What about Kai? What about their plans for college in Los Angeles?

“Kid, just to remind you we _do not_ usually do this.” He says, punctuating each word. “You’re one of the few people we street cast. I hope you’re not letting go of this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Soobin’s sweat drips down his face, his throat drying up. He needs to make a decision quickly.

“Tell me the address. I’ll be there soon.”

Soobin gathers all his courage and comes to the studio to meet with the casting directors. He was hoping to ask them if they could somehow give his boyfriend an audition as well. Maybe then, he can justify why he chose this path.

He enters the building and is immediately met with one of the staff.

“You’re here for the second audition right?” She asks for confirmation, holding tightly to her earpiece.

“I--yeah. I’m Choi--” Soobin replies, a bit flustered.

“Come with me.” She cuts him off.

He gets led to a big room deep into the building. His eyes meet with five different pairs sat on a horizontal table. In front of them were thick copies of the manuscript for the show. A camera sat in the center, pointed at a blank space at the front of the room.

He sees a familiar face approach him. “I’m glad you could make it, kid! We were expecting you.”

“Uh...Thanks.” Soobin eloquently replies. “So, what do you want me to do here again?”

“Well, basically we want you to do a second audition. These are pretty standard, it’s gonna be using script taken from the actual show, and also to check if you can really act on the spot.”

Soobin nods in understanding. He gets handed a script that he’s allowed to read off of and positions himself in front of the camera. He takes a deep breath knowing this might be _the make or break it_ moment for him. He takes one look at the 5 different people staring at him with curious eyes.

_‘Here goes nothing.’_

His memory was fuzzy but for the second audition he remembers finishing strong. When the final part of the script was said, he was met with thunderous applause from everyone in the room. Soobin was more than surprised to receive praise outside of the school plays he’d done.

“Kid, I’m in disbelief!” He gasps. “We just gave you the script, how can you already act and deliver the scene so well?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just tried my best…” Soobin flushes bright red, smiling ear to ear. “...and my name’s Soobin. Choi Soobin.”

“Well, Choi Soobin.” The agent looks at him proudly. “You’re gonna be a _star!_ ”

He gets whisked away to another room where a bunch of contracts were laid out in front of him. His mind was still reeling from all the praise from the audition that he could barely focus on reading the contracts. He can only remember signing the pieces of paper as he was pre-occupied with fantasizing about his future.

He was _finally_ going to be a star. He’ll be able to see himself on television, in papers, in articles, in the media, and etc. People from all over the country will know his name. His parents would finally be proud of him. His boyfriend would--

Soobin stops his signing to look up at the agent smirking at him. “Sir?”

“What is it? Any questions about your contract?”

Soobin shakes his head. “I just...Are there any more available spots in the show?”

“Why? Who do you want joining us?”

“It’s just my...friend. He also wants to be a professional actor, in fact he’s waiting in an airport right now for me. We’re supposed to go to an acting school together but then…this happened. So, is it possible for him to get a role in this show as well?” Soobin begs.

The agent raises his eyebrows at the boy, amused. He snickers loudly, his nose snorting out inhumane noises.

“Are you serious?” He says icily. He walks around the table and drops down to meet Soobin’s gaze. “Soobin, I understand you might be new to the entertainment industry but you have to learn to be...selfish.”

Soobin’s cocks his head, squinting in confusion. “W--what?”

“You need to toughen up and understand that you have to be a little bit selfish to get what you want.” The agent frowns at him. “Only you, can take yourself up to the top. Other people will just weigh you down.”

Soobin looks down, his eyes shut tightly. Is he going crazy or is the agent making sense? The voices in his head get louder and louder telling him to give in.

“Continue signing your papers if you’re serious about wanting to be a professional actor. Otherwise, you can get out and we can find a new actor who would probably look and act better than you.” The agent glowers down at him, his voice sounding poisonous. “ _It’s your call_.”

Soobin bites the inside of his cheek, his brow wrinkled deep in thought. Eventually, he gives in and raises his arms to continue signing the documents. The agent smiles victoriously, going back to sit on his chair.

“You won’t regret this kid! I’ll get you inside the company soon and assign you to a manager and...”

Soobin tunes him out and stares in defeat at the stack of contracts he finished signing.

_‘What the hell have I done?’_

Once the meeting ended, he instantly checks his phone for the time. It was 30 minutes before their flight takes off. His glossy eyes hover over all the missed calls and unread messages from Kai.

Soobin sits down on one the studio benches, his chest heaving in pain. Hesitantly, he starts writing a long message to Kai, telling him about the situation. He explains in tears how he’s decided to stay in Korea to do this show and that Kai should leave him behind to go to Los Angeles for college.

Soobin thought about calling him back but he couldn’t bear the thought of hearing Kai’s disappointed voice.

He clicks send, even though he knows it was just a jumble of words he had written down in a hurry. He buries his face in his hands, his eyes moist and his face pale. His chin trembles as he begins to breakdown, not knowing whether he made the right decision or not.

As expected, he doesn’t hear anything from Kai the next few days. He writes Kai emails every single day for the next few months. Each one was filled with apologies and updates about his life. He wrote his feelings out for each email, begging Kai for his forgiveness, and give him an update about his life Los Angeles as well. But there was always no response.

One day as he was finishing sending his daily email, a new notification appeared.

**“Your email can no longer be sent to this email address.”**

Soobin chokes up upon seeing the message on the screen. Kai had definitely blocked his email address. He starts to hyperventilate as he doesn’t know how to keep in touch with his boyfriend anymore. He starts making new email accounts to send his daily email apologies but as soon as he gets an email out, he gets blocked instantly.

He was running out of options. With the show they’re filming getting busy and all, he can’t make much of an effort anymore to contact him again. Depression over takes him and one day he just decides to give up on contacting his boyfriend. He realizes Kai was probably better off without him.

In his professional life, Soobin was settling in nicely in a proper agency. He was even assigned to a manager, a guy named Taehyun who was surprisingly younger than him. The show he was on was a big success. He felt some sort of recognition on seeing his name on television, but it lasted for a very short time before he felt an immense amount of dread.

He could not believe he gave up his relationship for this.

As the years passed, he had been on some indie films and also a supporting actor in some big films. But he never really got as much recognition as he used to. His fifteen minutes of fame was up and now he’s grappling to stay relevant. It’s almost laughable. It’s as if the universe was giving him a lesson.

All he really wants is to be able to see and talk to Kai again.

One day, as he was staying in their agency building, he spots a familiar face. He stops in his tracks as his eyes lay upon the one person he had wanted to see for the longest of time but couldn’t. He had to physically hold himself up on the wall, sensing himself on the edge of a breakdown.

Kai, his ex-boyfriend, was there sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area, his doe eyes checking out the room. Soobin starts to tear up when he notices the vast changes that Kai had underwent. His boyfriend had really grown up in every way possible in just a few years. His baby cheeks were gone and his features were more defined, his hair properly combed as opposed to his past unruly one, and his overall built was possibly bigger than Soobin himself.

Soobin notices that he was holding some kind of binder. He deducts that he was probably applying to this agency and was about to have an interview.

With careful eyes, he watches as Kai gets called by the receptionist. The younger boy takes a deep breath and clutches his binder firmly, waddling over to the other room. When he was finally out of sight, Soobin lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

His manager, Taehyun, looks at him weirdly from beside him.

“Are you okay? You seem...spooked.”

Soobin jumps back at his voice, clutching his chest.

“Jesus, you scared me.” He huffs out embarrassingly. “Oh uh, it’s nothing, I just...saw an old face.”

“What like a grandma?”

Soobin groans. “ _No_ ,” He turns back to peek again. “I mean it’s someone I used to know."

“Oh really? Then you should go talk to them.” Taehyun advises. “By the way, we have an assembly later. We’re gonna meet with Mr. Choi for some possible CFs you can do.”

“You know we can simply call him Beomgyu, right? He prefers it that way.”

Taehyun hums. “And I prefer to stay professional. Don’t forget about the meeting okay?”

“Mhm totally,” Soobin replies, still distracted.

Taehyun rolls his eyes and texts him the reminder just to be sure. He leaves Soobin alone and heads upstairs.

Soobin tiptoes around the hallways, trying to peek into the room his ex-boyfriend was currently having an interview in. He peers inside using the small door window, scanning the surroundings. He notices Kai sitting with his back to the door and facing the interviewer. From the looks of it, the interview was going well.

Suddenly, the interviewer catches Soobin in the act and throws him a confused look.

“Shit!” Soobin curses before dropping down to the floor and crawling away. He hides behind a corner just in time before hearing the door being flung open.

“Is everything all right, miss?” Kai asks, his voice sounding much deeper now.

“Yes, I just thought I...saw something. Anyway, forgive me. Let’s continue with the interview.” The sound of clicking heels sent chills down Soobin’s spine. He sighs in relief when the door finally closes.

 _‘God, I need to get myself together.’_ Soobin shivers. He walks mindlessly to the bathroom to take a break and splash some water on his face.

Chills ran down his spine upon seeing Kai again after so long. Even if he did have the courage to approach him, what would he even say? How do you speak to a person you betrayed to selfishly chase your own dreams?

Soobin grabs a paper towel and pats it on his face, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He looked absolutely terrible, as if he was about to throw up. His forehead was locked with wrinkles and his lower lip was almost bleeding from all the nervous lip biting he’d done.

He grips the sink tightly, closing his eyes to keep himself grounded.

Suddenly, the men’s bathroom door opens. Soobin readjusts himself immediately, fixing his hair and clothes. He can’t let anyone see him in this state.

“S--Soobin-hyung?” Kai’s tiny voice jolts him. Soobin turns back hastily, eyes widening at the sight of his ex-boyfriend just a few meters from him.

“Bab--Kai!” Soobin almost blurts out. “Uh how are you doing?”

Kai looks at him with a terrified look on his face, his whole body shaking. He starts to back away from Soobin, deciding to postpone his need to go to the bathroom. Starting to hyperventilate, his eyes flutter around the room nervously.

“Can we talk? Please?” Soobin says, a hopeful tone in his voice. He makes a bold move and steps closer to him, however, this triggers Kai to take off abruptly. The men’s room door opens wide once more and Soobin could only do nothing but listen to the sounds of Kai’s footsteps get fainter.

Soobin hits the wall in frustration. All he wanted was to fix things with Kai so badly but he knows that it would be a challenge. He couldn’t even blame him, all of this was his fault in the first place. How would he even contact the boy? He needs to come up with something real quick before he loses him again.

After fixing himself up for the second time, he storms into the office of the woman who interviewed Kai. She raises her eyebrow at Soobin’s presence, seemingly expecting this.

“I need to talk to you.”

* * *

“That must’ve been rough...” Taehyun voices out. He puts his hand and rubs Kai’s shoulder comfortingly. “Seeing your ex after years of not seeing him at the one company you really wanted to join must have taken a toll on you. I’m sorry Kai.”

Kai smiles weakly at Taehyun.

“The funny thing is...I got accepted to the company.” He shakes his head in amusement. “People told me it would take at least 3 auditions and some luck but all it took for me was just one audition and an interview.”

Kai fiddles with his fingers, deep in thought.

“I didn’t wanna admit it but I think Soobin had something to do with it.” 

Yeonjun and Taehyun gaze at each other briefly.

“Don’t think that way, Kai. No matter how you got in, you did it because you were _genuinely talented.”_ Yeonjun assures him.

Kai shoots him a grateful smile. “Thanks, hyung. It’s not like I minded it anyway. I was almost penniless and I needed to provide for my family so I would’ve taken any job in a heartbeat.”

The three sits quietly, all of them deep in contemplation.

“What happened next?” Taehyun inquires. “So you got into the company, then what?”

Kai grins at him and rubs Yeonjun’s belly. “I met Yeonjunnie-hyung and he got assigned to me. Slowly, I got into small roles in movies, tv shows, and others. Eventually, I found myself being part of the main cast in projects.” He hums dreamily. “Now, I’m doing this show as one of the leads. Life is crazy.”

Taehyun chuckles at him. “That’s great but I meant what about with Soobin?”

“Oh...”

* * *

Through Kai’s slow rise in fame, there wasn’t single a moment where Soobin hadn’t tried to contact or talk to him. The older boy had tried out many ways, from ‘running into’ him in the hallways, waiting outside when he has meetings, and even pretending to be a food delivery man. It got to a point where Kai had memorized Soobin’s schedule to deliberately avoid him at all times.

However, Soobin made sure his presence was known at all of Kai’s filming schedules. He’d send coffee trucks, lunch support and even hand written notes and gifts to him for every single shooting. Because of this, rumors started going around the studio that the two were in a relationship.

Kai got so sick of it that one day he just decided to man up and talk to Soobin once and for all. He didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, all he wanted was to focus on his work. With the help of Taehyun, who he had met through Yeonjun, they had persuaded Soobin to come to a fake meeting about a new project.

Kai sits patiently inside the meeting room. It was almost time for them to finally talk properly after years. He starts tearing the edges of the script paper in front of him, feeling nervous about speaking to Soobin again.

Can you even blame him? How could you even talk to someone who left you to go pursue the dream you both wanted? Kai had to live and go through university at another country alone for four whole years. He doesn’t want to waste his breath on someone who destroyed his trust like that.

Suddenly, he senses footsteps approaching. He braces and reminds himself that this is for the betterment of everyone involved.

Soobin enters the room and is immediately taken aback at the scene in front of him.

“K--Kai?" He blubbers out, eyes wide in fear. He peeks the label above the doorframe to check if he was in the correct room.

“You’re in the right room.”

Soobin scratches his head in confusion. “But Taehyun told me I had to meet with execut--Oh.” He visibly swallows and awkwardly inches forward into the room.

Kai raises an eyebrow at the change in Soobin’s behavior. “Why are you acting so shy now? Thought you’d be more bold after sending all those unsolicited gifts.” He asks, crossing his arms.

Soobin puts his hands in his pocket, shrugging.

“I just don’t want you to run away again like last time. I don’t want to scare you away.”

Kai closes his eyes and sighs loudly. He was a bit embarrassed about how he had acted back when they met at the bathroom but he doesn’t care. There were more pressing things that needed to be addressed.

“I won’t run away this time, I promise. Would you please sit down?”

Soobin nods along and takes a seat across from him. He looks down, still not making eye contact with the younger boy.

“I asked to meet with you today because I wanted to ask just one thing from you.” Kai starts. He rolls his eyes at how Soobin wasn’t even looking at him.

“Hello? Can you please look at me properly?”

Soobin shakes his head, biting his lip. “Don’t want to.” He mumbles out in a small voice.

“Why not?”

“Because...” He trails off. “I can’t look at you without crying.” He confesses, his voice cracking.

Kai’s features immediately soften. As much as he was mad at Soobin, he wasn’t totally heartless. He drops his tough exterior and try to approach him with a calmer presence.

“Well please try to. I want to make sure we talk this out properly.” Kai speaks in a much softer tone this time. He groans internally, _‘God, why is this conversation harder than it’s supposed to be.’_

Finally, Soobin builds up the courage to raise his head and meet Kai’s gaze. Already, Kai notices how red the other boy’s eyes had gotten. It was the first time Kai had taken a proper look at his ex-boyfriend after years of being away. He looked much more mature and grown.

Soobin takes in the view of Kai who was looking at him with familiar eyes. The same eyes that Soobin saw when they were cuddling together, the same eyes that told Soobin he loved him, the same eyes that sparkled every time they talked to each other about their dreams.

Soobin feels a tear drop run down his cheek. Once that first tear broke free, the rest followed in an unbroken stream. He hunches over and presses his palms into the table, his sobs increasing in volume.

“I’m so _so_ sorry Kai.” He wails out, using his sleeve to wipe his tears. “God, you’ve grown so much. You’re a big boy now. Look at you.”

Kai fights back his own tears, his throat getting choked up. He didn’t want to admit it but he also felt affected seeing how much Soobin had grown as well. He was certainly aging like fine wine.

“So why weren’t you there to see it for yourself?” He manages to say before breaking down himself.

The two boys starts crying together, letting out all their pent up feelings. The room echoed loudly with their sobbing and the tears on their cheeks felt chilly from the air conditioner. Kai places a tissue in the middle of the table for both of them to reach.

“Why hyung? Why did you leave and abandon me?” Kai asks, his voice cracking. He wipes his eyes, grasping the tissue hard.

Soobin shakes his head and bawls out even harder. He could only mutter out words of apologies to the other boy, not trusting himself to form a coherent sentence. His heart ached. He had planned so many things to say to Kai but now that he was actually in front of him, he couldn’t get a word out.

Deciding Soobin wasn’t ready to talk right now, Kai waited for a while until both of them weren’t reduced to a sobbing mess anymore. Soon after when the room was filled with sniffles, the younger boy spoke again.

“Can you tell me the reason, hyung? What was the breaking point? _Was it because of me?_ ”

That snapped Soobin back to his senses, he shakes his head and stares at Kai intensely.

“Fuck. It's not your fault.” Soobin breathes out. “I just--This is all my fault, all right? Don’t ever EVER blame yourself.” 

Kai’s lower lip trembles at that.

With that, Soobin starts explaining to Kai about everything, from the accidental meeting with an casting director at the party up to the whole audition process he had done.

“I don’t wanna put all of the blame on that agent…because in the end, I was the one who made the decision,” He says solemnly. “I think I just sort of fooled myself into thinking this was the most logical thing to do. I thought opportunities like these would be extremely hard to come by.”

He bites his lip and wipes his nose. He felt a bit lightheaded from all the crying. But he also felt much better to be able to let this all out to Kai.

“I just thought that if I hadn’t picked that option, I would live with regrets for the rest of my life.” He continues. “It’s like I’m deliberately missing out on achieving my dream and finally making my parents proud. But...”

“But?”

“But choosing that over you gave me a different kind of regret. I’ve never regretted a decision this much in my whole life.” He tears up once again. “Even though I’ve achieved things that I wanted to and my parents see me differently now, I still felt a huge gap in my heart. Like something was missing.” He gazes at Kai across from him, his eyes swollen.

“It was you, Kai.” He admits. “I just hope you can forgive me--“

“I don’t know if I can, hyung.” Kai says coldly. No matter how Soobin had put it, he still ended up choosing the selfish option.

“I suffered for so long without you.” He says bitterly. “I spent all those years in a foreign country alone and afraid. I had nobody. You have no idea what kind of experiences I went through.”

Soobin stares at him guiltily and listens intently.

“While you were out here in Korea making a name for yourself, gaining fame and money and new friends, I was in another country working part-time jobs _day and night_ just to be able to get by.” Kai continues. “It’s not like I didn’t expect to have that experience overseas. I knew it would be difficult, tiring, and challenging. But... I just thought it would make it _bearable_ because we would do it _together_. It wasn’t just your dream to be a famous actor, Hyung. It was _our_ dream.”

Kai takes a deep breath. “Which is why, I just can’t forgive you right now. To be completely honest—” Kai pauses. “—I don’t know if I even want to see you anymore.”

At the other’s words, Soobin’s body starts shaking like a leaf. He knew that this would be the outcome but it still hurt to actually live through it.

“No! Please, no no no--“ Soobin starts chanting in panic. “Please Kai, I’ll do anything. I don’t think I can bear not seeing you anymore.” He whimpers out.

“I don’t know Soob--“

“I’m begging you, please. I can’t let things end like this.” Soobin cuts him off. “I’m serious please let me fix this. I will do anything just to make up for everything I did. I don’t think I can ever forgive myself if I don’t at least try.”

Kai lets it mull over, pondering all of his options. He genuinely didn’t want anything to do with Soobin anymore, but he can’t ignore how broken the guy looked.

Kai wasn’t a monster, he was still human with emotions and feelings. And as much as he wanted to just leave the room and forget about all of this forever, his heart was telling him to give this man a chance.

He sighs heavily before speaking to the other. “I have an idea on what I want you to do. I think that... doing this will help me in getting through everything that happened.”

“What is it?”

“I want us to be enemies.” He says in a serious tone. Soobin looks at him incredulously. He blinks rapidly and wonders if he just heard it wrong.

“You want me to be your enemy? In what way?”

“I want the two of us to be every definition of enemies.” Kai explains. “I want to be seen as rivals. I want to be able to be mean to you publicly. And this goes both ways, you can be mean to me too, even if you don’t mean it. I want every single person that knows us to know that we hate each other. ”

“Are you serious? Kai, you know I _can’t_ bear to be mean to yo--”

Kai crosses his arms, “I thought you were willing to do anything to make up for what you did?”

“I am!”

“Then this is my demand. I don’t want to force you, it’s really up to you if you’re actually serious about making it up to m--"

“I’m serious about it!” Soobin assures him. “How long do we have to do this act?”

Kai hums, thinking to himself. “Leave that up to me. I’ll stop when I get satisfied but... I don’t really see that happening.”

“Fine.” Soobin says firmly, ignoring the last part of what Kai said. “I’ll do it.”

He looks at Kai intensely, a different glint in his eyes.

**“I’ll be your enemy.”**

And from that day on, the two actors had worn a mask to the public. From social media, to award shows, to normal meetings, the two were known to fight, bicker and be petty towards each other. Slowly, they gained the reputation of being the industry’s top rivals. However, no one really knew how this rivalry had started. All they know is that these two actors hated each other with every fiber of their meeting.

* * *

“Woah, you never told me that part of the story before,” Yeonjun mumbles, a bit hurt. “You always ended it ambiguously so I never knew what led to Soobin antagonizing you.”

“Sorry, Yeonjun-hyung,” Kai gives him an apologetic smile. “It was just very painful for me to bring those memories up.”

Yeonjun immediately pulls him into a soft hug, laying his head on top of the younger’s. Kai reciprocates and hugs him back tightly.

“You don’t have to apologize. We should be the ones sorry for making you bring it up in the first place.”

“Yeah, I feel bad for forcing you to tell all of that Kai.” Taehyun adds.

Kai shakes his head, removing himself from Yeonjun’s arms. “It’s fine. I feel like a huge weight was lifted off of my chest anyway.” He takes a deep breath and faces Taehyun. “Will you help me now, Taehyun-ah?”

Taehyun leans over to grab Kai’s hand, a determined look on his face.

“Let’s get you your boyfriend back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone!
> 
> is anyone else teary-eyed or is it just me? ⊂( ಥ︣ ⍙ ಥ︣ )⊃
> 
> what are your thoughts on sookai's backstory? i really wanted to flesh this one out well so their actions leading up to the finale made sense hehe. If you want, you can reread the previous parts of Love Is War. 
> 
> (ง ▀̿ ̿︣ ︹ ▀̿ ̿ ︣ )ง anyway, the next part is the FINALE!! AAAA! what do you guys think will happen in the finale? will it be a happy ending or a sad ending? hmmm...
> 
> as always, a kudos is greatly appreciated.  
> thank you for reading! ٩(♥̃ ᴗ♥̃)۶
> 
> for updates follow me on ---> @tokyocherry_twt 🌸❤️


	3. The Fools Who Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”  
> — Henry Stanley Haskins
> 
> “At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.”  
> — Christopher Reeve
> 
> “Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you, dream big, take risks, don’t wait.”  
> — Misty Gibbs
> 
> The finale of Love Is War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're finally here.
> 
> recommendation: listen to taylor swift's folklore album while reading. ;)
> 
> anyway, grab a snack, relax and enjoy!

The soon-to-be-official couple drives back to the Hwang estate, the rotten smell of awkwardness pungent in the air between them. Yeji was still a bit put off from Soobin’s storytelling of his distrastrous past back at dinner. She opens up her iPhone 11 Pro Max and distracts herself by checking her work schedule for the following days.

Soobin looks over to her, worry painted on his face. “Hey, Yeji?” He calmly calls.

The girl whips her head to face him, humming in response.

“Was tonight okay? You seem a little quiet.” He comments.

Yeji bites her lower lip. “Ah sorry! I was just… thinking about my schedule for next week. I don’t know if I have to clear stuff or not.”

Soobin sighs. She was clearly lying but he doesn’t have the energy to prod further. They reach the gates of the Hwang estate, which reminds Soobin of a particular person. After being let in, they pull up to the driveway and stop near the front of their mansion.

“Yeji...” Soobin finally speaks out. “We both don’t know what will happen next week.”

She rolls her eyes. “We both saw him back at the restaurant. It’s only a matter of time before he does something.” She scoffs. “Now, give me your hand.”

“Why?”

Yeji smirks and grabs his hand anyway. “For instagram.” She winks before snapping a photo of their hands intertwined with each other inside his car. The fans are surely gonna go crazy about this.

“All right, I’m off then.” Yeji says, picking up her purse. She opens up the passenger side door to get out.

“Yeji, I’m sorry--“ Soobin starts.

“It’s fine.” She forces a smile. “It’s not like I didn’t expect it. Just make sure you do it right this time. Goodbye.”She says with a certain finality in her tone. Giving Soobin one last smile, she closes the door with a soft thud, leaving the other boy alone to wallow in his own thoughts.

Soobin groans, leaning forward to lay his head in his arms. These past few weeks had been incredibly draining for him. He isn’t sure how many energy drinks he’d gone through already just to keep up.

Remembering he has a schedule for shooting tomorrow, he starts his car up and drives back home.

* * *

“Who wants another coffee break?” Kai, who looks like he already had _way_ too much caffeine, asks the two very sleepy managers on the couch. When they don’t respond, he hops off to the kitchen anyways, singing a song way too loud at this time of the night. Yeonjun blinks rapidly, looking around at his surroundings a bit disoriented. He checks the time on his rare Rolex Antemagnetique watch.

**1:46 am.**

He groans loudly, mentally cursing the boy currently in his kitchen who was making a surplus of noise with the coffee grinder. From below him, the other manager barely stirred and has still wrapped himself around Yeonjun. The older boy smiles, patting his head.

The three were still currently at Yeonjun’s apartment to brainstorm for Kai’s new plan to get Soobin back. After Kai’s long story time, each of them had given their own ideas on how he can get Soobin back. After a lot of back and forth, they had finally came up with a fool proof plan that was sure to jostle the other actor back into liking Kai again. However, Kai insisted they work on it tonight so they don’t lose their ‘momentum’, as he had called it. The result were two very annoyed and sleepy managers, and one caffeine-rush induced penguin.

Upon feeling the older boy disturb him from his nap, Taehyun snuggles closer and lets out what sounded like was a purr. Yeonjun melts at the sight and lets him continue napping. He moves Taehyun’s head to rest on his shoulder, making sure the other was comfortable.

Kai setting down their re-filled mugs jolts them from their position, cringing at the loud noise. This effectively wakes Taehyun up completely. When he realizes what was going on and where he was, he immediately leaps out of Yeonjun’s arms. His cheeks flare up as he tries to put as much space between them.

“Sorry for waking you guys up!” Kai sheepishly smiles and hands them the mugs. “I promise you guys we’re at the final stages already.”

Taehyun rubs his temple, easing his headache. “Well, give us the run-down for the plan again.”

Kai nods. “Okay. So, the plan is to come up with a ‘new’ scene to shoot for next week. This scene will revolve around Jaeyeol and Museop, and it’s about a similar experience I had at the airport when Soobin abandoned me. But this time, Soobin’s character, Muyeol, will chase after my character, Jaeseop, and talk it out.”

Yeonjun looks at him, squinting. “And what will that achieve? Why that specific part of your past?”

Kai lets out a tired sigh. “It’s the one thing I _really_ wanted to change from the past.” He replies. “And I know that Soobin feels the same way. So...it has to be about this.”

Yeonjun nods in understanding. Taehyun crosses his arms. “So, what’ll happen at the airport between Muyeol and Jaeseop?”

“Well, Muyeol catches up to Jaeseop after their little fight and they take turns in apologizing.” The actor twists his body to grab a sheet of paper from behind him. On the paper was a makeshift script for the scene.

“I wrote a dialogue between us that was also similar to the one we had in the past when I asked him to be my enemy. Except this time...I’m apologizing to him as well.”

“I see. How do you suppose Soobin will feel when he gets the revised script then? Wouldn’t he know something was fishy?” Taehyun asks, sipping from his sweetened coffee.

Kai shakes his head, smirking. “We actors tend to memorize our scripts on the day we film so even if he does realize something was up, he would have no time to act on it.”

Taehyun chuckles at him. “You’re playing a dangerous game, my friend. But, go on.”

“All right. So this is where you guys come in.” He points to them. “I need your help in coordinating with the studio to set the scene up. I’m talking props, lighting, camera angles, casting extras and etc. Is it okay with you?”

Yeonjun nods confidently. “Of course. We were trained for this. But shouldn’t you ask permission from the director to do this?”

Kai pouts. He knew had forgotten about something.

“Shit. You’re right.” He hums in concentration. “I’ll try asking him tomorrow? I mean, it’s just _one_ scene...it probably won’t be that big of a deal for him.”

**The next morning…**

“NO!” The director snaps at him. He pauses his paperwork at his desk to glare at the actor and his ‘proposal’. The three of them were currently inside his office, begging him to agree to their plan.

“Why not sir? I promise it’s not that big of a deal. It’ll only be one scene. It won’t even take more than a day.”Kai whines, making cute faces to try to persuade him.

The director rolls his eyes and shoots daggers at him in response. “We simply do not have enough budget to do that. Plus, we’re running out of time and we have to finish our production show soon. In fact, I even had to cut a few scenes out.”

Kai slumps down on the chair, his whole body deflating. There goes their whole plan. 

But then, Yeonjun comes to his rescue. “Sir, what if we ask Mr. Choi for some help? I mean he _is_ the Vice President of this company. Surely, he can allocate some funds we can use.”

Kai instantly comes back to life, excitedly looking at the director for confirmation of Yeonjun’s words. The director peers at them tiredly, massaging the wrinkles sported on his forehead.

“I...think it’s possible.”

He immediately regrets his words when Kai’s high pitched scream breaks the sound barrier. Taehyun, who had already covered his ears beforehand, just laughs at the two affected by the noise.

“Thank you sir! We’ll go and convince him now.” He excitedly jumps up from his seat and heads to the door. “We won’t let you down!"

“I hope this is the last time you kids ask me for help! I don’t wanna meddle with your love lives for a third time.”The director off-handedly mentions, focusing back on his paperwork again.

“Oh really?” Kai tilts his head in curiousity. “Who else have asked you for help, sir?”

“The tall one. S--“

“Okay! We have to go now!” Taehyun cuts him off, pushing Kai out of the door before he could hear the rest of the director’s answer. “We’ll get going now, thank you again for your help sir! Sorry for disturbing you!”

Yeonjun helps him out and closes the door behind, effectively separating them from the mouthy director.

Kai looks at the two of them suspiciously. “What was that about?”

“I uh, I just think we should go to Mr. Choi’s right now. So, we don’t waste any time.” Taehyun stutters.

Kai looks at him knowingly. “I see what’s going on...” He says eerily.

Taehyun and Yeonjun lock eyes nervously.

Kai continues. “You’re just excited to see Beomgyu-hyung!” He says, showing a smug smile to the shorter boy. Yeonjun turns to Taehyun in amusement, wondering what he’s going to do.

Taehyun’s cheeks burst a cherry red color. He swallows thickly, glaring at the actor. “S—Sure, I was just excited to see Mr. Ch—Beomgyu.” He says forcefully, giving side eye to Yeonjun who was stifling his laughter from beside him.

Kai giggles cutely, linking their arms together. “Well, let’s not take too long then. Let’s head there right now!” He cheerily says, walking off into a random direction.

Yeonjun slaps him on the shoulder lightly. “Oi! Did you forget Beomgyu has a home office?”

Kai gasps in excitement. “You’re right! Let me give him a heads up.” He hurriedly types into his phone. Beomgyu responds quickly, agreeing to meet all of them. Kai grins widely at the two managers around his arms.

“Let’s go see his mansion!”

* * *

Kai peeks outside of the car’s window, nostalgia hitting him hard. It’s been a while since he had been in front of the gates of the Choi’s enormous estate but he still has the same feeling of amazement and anxiousness. Yeonjun rolls down the driver’s window to meet the beefy security guards stationed to meet guests.

“Good Morning, sir! May I know your business with the Choi family?” He bellows out in a very deep voice.

“Uh yeah, we’re employees from their company—” Yeonjun shows them their company IDs. “—and we’re here for a meeting with Mr. Choi Beomgyu.”

“Very well, sir. Let me just verify.” The security guard contacts his partner inside of the booth to check with Beomgyu’s secretary. After waiting for a while, the boys hear the walkie talkie from the guard’s hand confirm Yeonjun’s words.

“Open the gates!” He barks at the other personnel on top of the guard towers. He looks back at them and bows politely. “Have a good day.”

Kai’s eyes sparkle in astonishment at the gates opening in front of them. The same feeling of excitement, nervousness, adrenaline, and many more were currently flowing inside of him. It really brings him back to when they went to Beomgyu’s mansion for the first time. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the feeling.

They drive inside of the mansion and head towards the car park. Kai chuckles to himself out of nowhere.

“What is it?” Taehyun inquires.

Kai shrugs. “It’s nothing, it’s just...the last time I was here I envied all the cars that the company employees were driving and now I get to enter the mansion in one. It’s… just funny how things worked out.”

Together, they enter the giant and intimidating mansion. Inside, everything looked much different from the last time Kai was here. The impact of the quickly evolving technology was evident. Different gadgets and applications were found in almost every part of the place. He thinks he even saw a robot maid pass by in one of the doorways.

Kai felt like as if he was in Tony Stark’s mansion.

“Kai-ya!” Beomgyu’s voice greets them from the intercom. “I’m in the 4th floor, come quickly!” He says, a teasing tone in his voice.

Suddenly, a butler emerges from a random room and greets them with a bow. Kai’s eyes light up as he recognizes him as the same butler who helped him and Soobin navigate through the giant mansion to get to Beomgyu’s pool party.

“If you gentleman would follow me.” He says in his foreign accent which Kai still doesn’t recognize.

They follow him straight to a giant elevator that could hold at most 50 people. The inside was decorated with gold railings and a beautiful mirror with a tiny chandelier at the center of the ceiling. It smelled like fresh lavender, which Kai knows that Beomgyu loves.

Out of nowhere, the butler claps his hand once. From the wall, a hexagonal shaped screen twists out of nowhere and faces all of them.

“What is your desired floor?” It speaks in a chilly real-like female voice. Kai’s mouth drops at the robot that handles the elevator. He scoots behind Yeonjun, a bit creeped out by its voice.

“The 4th floor please.” The butler responds.

“Very well."

And with that, the elevator doors close. Kai swears he only blinked once before the elevator doors opened once again.

“We have reached the 4th floor.” The hexagonal screen announced.

“Holy shit.” Kai mutters under his breath. “That was fast.”

“Let’s get on then.” The butler leads all three of them out of the elevator and into a massive hallway. Expensive looking artwork hung from the walls, one of which Kai recognizes was one of Van Gogh’s.

“His office is right over here, gentlemen.” The butler stops in front of a black and gold encrusted door. The handle had a giant jewel adorned on the end of it. Kai was a bit hesitant to open it, afraid that it might break off or something.

“Thanks for your help!” Yeonjun bows to him.

“It was my pleasure. Would any of you like some refreshments?” He proposes.

Taehyun taps Kai’s on the shoulder. The actor was too busy running his fingers along the door frame in awe. “Hey Kai, you got this one right? Yeonjun and I will just go get some food.”

“I guess... Just make sure you guys join us later. Especially you Taehyunnie since you _really_ wanted to see Beomgyu.” He jokes, snickering at the shorter boy.

Before Taehyun can hit Kai, Yeonjun pulls his arm away. “Let’s go, Taehyun. I wanna see if their Lobster Frittatas are available.” The two follow the butler into the other room, bickering to themselves.

Kai turns back to the door, his heart beating fast. It’s been a while since he had seen Beomgyu face to face. Due to both of their busy schedules they’ve only mostly been texting or video chatting with each other. He prays that his friend will agree to his plan no matter how farfetched it sounded.

He twists the door handle as gently as possible and heads inside of the room. Immediately, he gets met with a flying marshmallow to the face.

“Gotcha!” Beomgyu yells out before dipping down below from his table. “There’s another gun beside you.” He hints to him.

Kai looks at the door side table and sees the marshmallow gun Beomgyu was talking about. Taking off his jacket, he arms himself with the gun and starts hunting his friend. “You’re so gonna pay for that, _Bomgyu-hyong!_ ”

Dozens of marshmallows later, the two highschool friends were currently sprawled out in Beomgyu’s faux fur sofa, catching their breaths. Kai drags himself into the older boy’s arms and buries his head in their chest.

“I miss you so much, hyung! How are you doing? I take it the job as the Vice President is doing well?” Kai questions.

Beomgyu snickers and scratches the younger boy’s chin cutely. “I’m doing fine, Huening-ah. It just gets… a little too busy and serious sometimes which is why I’m so happy you came by to play. How about you?”

“Oh y’know the usual... The shooting for the show is going well. We’re about to wrap up production in less than a month. You’ll be tuning in to our show, right?” Kai giggles.

“Are you kidding?” Beomgyu says incredulously. He pats Kai’s head gently. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s not common to see your closest friends be the leads for a show together. I’m so happy for you and Soobin.”

Kai’s face falls at the mention of the other actor. “Yeah, that’s kind of one of the reasons why I came here.” He confesses.

“What’s going on? Is he bothering you again, because I swear I _will_ beat him up again.” Beomgyu growls. “I even still have him banned from entering this mansion for another decade.” He adds on playfully.

After Kai’s return to Korea, he and Beomgyu had met outside and he told _everything_ that transpired between him and Soobin. This resulted in a sort of weird rift in their friend group. However, Beomgyu and Soobin (with the permission of Kai) made up a few years later.

Currently, Kai explained to Beomgyu the newest developments to their relationship. He shared about his old revenge plan, their interactions at the cruise, their secret no strings attached relationship and up until the current Yeji and Soobin relationship stunt.

“That was...a lot.” Beomgyu comments. “Are you feeling okay?"

Kai hugs his old friend tighter, shaking his head. Beomgyu comforts him quietly, drawing random figures behind his back. The two friends lay together for a while, just enjoying each other's company. It's a shame that they don't see each other very much so when they do meet each other again, they try to make the most of it.

"You know your hair's gotten longer again." Beomgyu smiles, ruffling Kai's curls. He tries to shake the sad feeling off of Kai, making him giggle in the process. The other boy hums in response, untangling himself from his friend's arms.

"Hyungie, I uh need your help with something." Kai starts, getting back his confidence. He unravels his whole plan to Beomgyu, telling him about the fake scene with the script and everything. The Vice President watches back with curious eyes at the things he was spouting out.

"Interesting...so I'm guessing the director didn't agree to help you?"

Kai nods. “He mentioned that we don’t have enough budget to do all of that. But since you’re the VP, he thought that you could possibly help us out. Will you help us, hyung?”

Beomgyu taps his chin, deep in thought. This wasn’t the first time someone asked him for help in a similar way as Kai’s.

“Of course I’ll help you, Kai.” Beomgyu pinches his cheek. “I’ll coordinate with the director and increase your budget.”

Kai gasps, his eyes smiling. “Really hyung?” He tackles the shorter boy, chanting thank you’s to him excitedly. Beomgyu chuckles, pushing the hyper boy off.

“All right, all right calm your horses. I just want one thing in return.” He says mischievously.

“What is it hyung? I’ll do anything!” Kai says firmly, puffing his cheeks out.

Beomgyu grins. “Let me be the best man at you and Soobin’s wedding.”

Heat immediately rises to Kai’s cheeks. He screeches in embarrassment and swats at Beomgyu’s arm repeatedly. The older boy could only laugh heartily at him, deflecting all his shots.

“Hyung! I thought you were being serious. Hmph!” Kai crosses his arms. “I’m not even sure if Soobin will take me back.” He looks down, eyes glossy.

Beomgyu flicks his forehead, sighing at his friend’s stupidity. “Of course he will.”

Kai shrugs and falls back down on the sofa, wallowing in his anxious thoughts. The Vice President rolls his eyes and stands up to go to his desk. He opens up his drawer and rummages through the contents. He grabs the thing he was looking for and skips back to his friend.

“Here, take this.” He holds the object to Kai.

The actor opens his eyes and come face to face with a photograph. But not just any photograph, it was the one Beomgyu took of him and Soobin at the pool party. His eyes scan the picture, his heart swelling at the memories flooding back.

* * *

* * *

“Sorry I forgot to give this to you before you left Korea.” Beomgyu chuckles.

Kai silently takes it from Beomgyu’s hands. He stares at the photograph intensely. They looked so happy back then. It felt so unreal to him at how everything drastically changed. Kai could only wish things would go back to the way they were.

“He loves you Kai. I promise you.”

Kai looks back at him tearily and gives his friend another tight hug. “Thank you, hyung.”

“Don’t mention it.” Beomgyu settles his head on Kai’s broad shoulders. “I do hope things work out between you two. I love you both so much and I just want you to finally be happy.”

“I don’t know what to say, hyung…” Kai replies, getting choked up. “I love you too!”

Suddenly the door bursts open.

“Kai, you have _got_ to try their lobster frittatas! It’s the best!” Yeonjun shrieks as he carries a whole platter of the dish. Taehyun trails behind him, carrying a caramel macchiato that the butler had prepared for him.

When the two managers notices the emotional scene in front of them, they zip their mouths immediately. Taehyun gives Yeonjun a disapproving look.

Kai removes himself from the hug and giggles at his manager. “Really, hyung? Ah, we have to bring home some then.” He winks at Beomgyu.

Taehyun bows politely at the Vice President, swiftly hiding his caramel macchiato behind his back. Beomgyu looks back at him, smirking.

“Nice to see you again…Taehyun-ssi.” He says huskily.

Taehyun blushes a deep red, clearing his throat. “I uh-- it’s nice to meet you-- I mean, see you again too.” He says oh so eloquently.

Yeonjun squints at the both of them, a bit annoyed. “Anyway, sorry we barged in like that.” He smiles cheekily. “But, the director just called me and they need you back on set.”

Kai groans and pouts at an amused Beomgyu. “It’s okay, Kai. You can go. I’ll go do what you asked me after this.”

Kai gives his friend one last hug before gathering his things. He places the photograph of him and Soobin inside the pocket of his jacket.

“Thanks again for everything, hyung!” He bows playfully before they exit Beomgyu’s home office. 

Kai lets out a sigh of relief. The two managers look at him expectedly. “Well?” They ask in unison.

The actor grins from ear to ear. “He said yes!” They erupt in celebration, feeling giddy.

“Now that it’s approved, we can officially start working with the set director, costume director, scriptwriters and others.” Yeonjun says. “Taehyun and I can take care of that. For you, just…try to behave until next week. Be sure to practice and don’t cause any more drama.”

Kai salutes him jokingly. “Yes, sir!”

Yeonjun pokes his stomach before tickling him full on. Taehyun shakes his head at how unprofessional these two were. He’ll never get over at how they act more like two brothers rather than a manager and his client.

They join hands together at the center, adrenaline coursing through their bodies. They have to execute this plan perfectly for next week. Kai’s future was riding on this.

“All right team, let’s do this!” They yell out before bringing their hands to the sky.

* * *

**One week later…**

Soobin walks nervously on the cobblestone path on the way to the studio. The glittering sunrays spread various hues of shiny silver and golds that bounced off his Bulgary Flora sunglasses. White and cotton-like clouds sped across the sky, faintly providing him with some shade. It was supposed to be such a nice day out but he couldn’t shake the feeling of anxiousness for some reason.

On his right hand, he was holding a script that his manager had given him early this morning. He felt confused (and a little bit irritated) because Taehyun usually gives it to him the night before. His morning routine barely provided him with time to read it so he wasn’t really sure what the content of the script was. But when he stopped at a red light during his drive to the studio, he finally had a chance to peek through it and…it was definitely not what he expected.

 **“The Airport Scene”** the title had read.

The script felt oddly familiar. It gave him that feeling of deja-vu, but he couldn’t pin point on why exactly. Perhaps, his brain still hadn’t woken up.

On his other hand, he grasps his coffee tightly, taking a sip. He sighs in relief at the caffeinated drink. He was thankful it had started taking effect in his body. His mind wanders back to the script. Whatever it may be, he still needed to do well today. That was always his main goal as an actor, to always try your best and give each performance as if it was his last.

The actor takes a deep breath before pushing the door and entering the studio. He walks into their waiting room and spots a familiar face. Kai sits on the far side of the room, reading his own script. He pauses temporarily to meet Soobin’s gaze and the two greet each other with a polite bow.

That was usually the extent of their interactions for this past week. Kai no longer made any more attempts to chase after Soobin, much to his dismay. He didn’t know if he should feel sadness, anger, happiness or disappointment. Why wasn’t the boy doing something? He’s tried everything to coax and help him wiggle out of his shell but nothing seems to be working.

Soobin sighs and spends the rest of his morning learning the script. The more he reads through it, the more he picks up on what was going on. This scene was familiar but at the same time not at all. He secretly gives his fellow lead actor a glance, his mind reeling.

Could it be?

But before he could think about approaching the other, he gets whisked away by hair and make-up team. They style him quickly, chattering to themselves about the new gossip and such. Soobin ignores them for the most part, only talking when they directly ask him any questions.

“...I didn’t expect to film this today as well! The director never makes rash decisions like this I wonder what changed his mind.”

“Someone said it had something to do with one of the actors…”

Soobin raises his eyebrow, overhearing their conversation. He knows he can’t trust gossip but if it _was_ true then this meant his suspicions was starting to make sense. Once finished, he goes over and wears his character Muyeol’s clothes. For today’s filming, it was jeans, a black turtleneck and a long brown coat.

After dressing up and completing other necessary pre-shooting activities, he goes back on set and receive the instructions from the director. Little by little, he gets the whole picture of the scene. But still, he felt a bit unease at how little he had learned the script.

Soobin approaches the director after he had dismissed them.

“Sir, my manager handed it to me early in the morning instead of last night. So I was unable to learn my script properly for today.” He says through gritted teeth.

The director looks back at him boredly, “Are you fine with a teleprompter?”

Soobin’s eyes bulge. A teleprompter?

He chuckles awkwardly, “Is it possible if we can just re-schedule this scene on another day?” He tries his luck. He can already tell his performance will be heavily affected. He’d rather they have a reschedule the shoot than have him embarrass himself.

The director sighs, shaking his head firmly. “Kid, you’ve been in the industry for a while now. We both know the answer to your question.”

Soobin nods sadly. Of course he knew. With their limited time and budget, they couldn’t afford to do it. This meant the actor should be the one to adjust to the current conditions.

“Fine, let’s use the teleprompter.” The actor says bitterly. He walks away, a bit annoyed. The director then proceeds to bark orders to the production crew as they finally prepare for their first take of the day.

 **“** **...and ACTION!** **”**

Soobin watches the Kai’s first bit of solo scene from behind the camera. Kai’s character, Jaeseop, was sitting alone at an airport set. Multiple extras surrounded him, talking and interacting amongst themselves as if they really were random people at the airport.

Jaeseop nervously bounces his leg, his expression showing anxiousness and uncertainty. He checks his phone repeatedly every few seconds, pouting every time he notices there were no new notifications.

“I wonder where he could be...” Jaeseop thinks out loud. “It’s almost time for the flight, I don’t know what I would do if he doesn’t make it.”

Suddenly, an actress dressed as a young mother sits beside him. Soobin assumes her character was probably made to provide a bit of exposition for the scene. She readjusts her floral sundress before speaking to Jaeseop.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude but are you feeling all right? You seem a bit restless.” She asks, her voice like honey.

Jaeseop looks at her in surprise, blushing at how obvious he was being. “I uh I don’t wanna burden you.”

“Of course you won’t.” She smiles calmly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jaeseop hums, nodding at her. He turns his whole body to face her, accompanied by the movement of the camera filming them.

“I’m supposed to be flying out with someone today but… I don’t know if he’s going to be able to make it.” He explains to her. “We’ve planned our move to Hawaii for months now. It’s a dream for the both of us.”

“So what happened? Why isn’t he here yet?” She questions.

Remembering the cue, Soobin takes his place behind set.

Jaeseop shrugs, unshed tears in his eyes. “We recently had a bit of a fight. He wasn’t answering my calls so I was only able to send him long messages filled with apologies.”

Jaeseop gives his best grieving look for the cameras to zoom in on. “But to be honest...I don’t think he’s _ever_ going to come. I can’t help but the blame myself for this. Maybe I’ve been way too focused on myself that I hadn’t really seen what was going on around me. Does that make sense to you?”

“A little bit…” The lady smiles cheekily. “Just have a little bit of hope, all right? I’m sure your love is more than the fight you guys had.” She comforts him. “Also, life is full of surprises! It’s spontaneous, unexpected and beautiful. Just don’t give up, okay? I’m sure he’ll make it.”

Suddenly, the sound of rash footsteps bounced off in the airport. Jaeseop turns his head, trying to locate the source. His eyes lock on a familiar figure.

It was Muyeol! He stands up and covers his mouth in shock at the appearance of his boyfriend.

“Jaes--“ Soobin tries to get out before he accidentally trips on himself and lands on the floor.

 **“** **CUT!** **”** The director sighs. He asks a crew member to help Soobin back on his feet. Picking up his megaphone, he speaks to the fallen actor. “Are you okay, kid?”

Soobin groans, his face burning up at the fact that he just embarrassed himself in front of everyone at set. He glares at the extras stifling in their laughter. It was taking everything in him to continue playing along.

“I’m fine. I apologize for disrupting the shoot.” He bows. The director nods and begins giving instructions to the production crew again.

“Let’s start again from the running scene." The director tells them. **"...and ACTION!"**

Muyeol runs through the airport, pushing through the crowds. He checks his watch, it was almost time for the flight.

When he sees his boyfriend a few meters from him, he can't help but open his arms for him to jump into. The two clash together softly, wrapping their limbs around one another. Muyeol takes Jaeseop’s head and presses their foreheads together, feeling beyond ecstatic.

With deep breaths, he starts apologizing. "I'm sorry for being late. God, you must have been so restless, wondering where I was.”

“Where were you? What happened?” Jaeseop asks worriedly.

“I went to my parents.” Muyeol confesses, making Jaeseop gasp. “They said they needed my help with something. But when I got there, they were trying to set me up with someone else. I knew my parents were unaccepting of our relationship but I can’t believe they’d go this far to separate us.”

Muyeol’s lip trembles as he bows to his boyfriend. “I’m _really_ sorry, baby. I hope you can forgive me.”

Jaeseop shakes his head, tearing up. "It’s fine. It's all good that you're here now.” He sniffles. “I have to apologize as well for the fight we had a few days ago."

Muyeol hugs the boy tightly. "It's not your fault, baby. I promise you." Soobin peeks at the teleprompter to read the next line when all of a sudden, the machine malfunctions and shuts off.

Soobin mentally rolls his eyes. Luck just wasn’t on his side today and he was losing his patience. Deciding, the two of them had enough role playing, he continues on with the scene but this time as _Soobin._

He looks at Kai intensely, biting his lower lip in concentration. It was either now or never.

He takes a deep breath and begins his apologizing. "Jaes—Kai. I'm sorry.” He breathily says. “I’m sorry for all of the things I have done to you. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the mistake I did of choosing that job over you.”

Everyone in the room freezes, shocked at Soobin’s words. Kai looks at him in disbelief, his eyes glittering under the studio lights. This wasn’t part of the script. He wasn’t expecting this would happen. He feels his heartbeat quicken and his palms getting sweaty.

“You've been nothing but the best and it's just not fair that I wasn’t doing the same to you." Soobin smiles solemnly, like he had given up.

Just as the director was about to yell _‘_ _Cut_ _’_ , he gets shut down by Yeonjun. Taehyun stands to the side and motions all the extras and crew members to leave the stage as quietly and stealthily as they could. Altogether, they exit the room and leave the two actors alone on stage.

This was Kai and Soobin’s moment and their’s alone.

When Soobin realizes they were finally alone, he starts opening up. “When I got my _‘_ _dream_ _’_ of being an actor, I thought that I would be happy. I genuinely thought it would bring me at least an ounce of joy. But…it never came. That’s when it registered to me that… being an actor wasn’t really my dream.” Soobin wipes his eyes.

At this point, both boys were on the brink of tears. Kai couldn’t speak, his throat kept closing up. He wants to tell Soobin so many things but his body wouldn’t let him. He looks down, unable to look at Soobin directly.

“Kai look at me please.” Soobin coos. He holds Kai’s cheeks softly and pushes his head up to face him. “I was never aware of it before but... _you_ are my dream, Kai. I know that sounds like the corniest thing in the world but I don’t care! Being with you was all I really wanted in life.”

Kai couldn’t take it anymore and started weeping in front of him. He closes his eyes, holding onto Soobin’s shoulder for stability. Something about Soobin’s tone wasn’t sitting well with Kai. He sounded like he was about to say something devastating.

“I’ve been in denial about it for a while but... I now realize that you’re way better off without me.” Soobin’s voice cracks. “You deserve someone who isn’t _selfish, greedy, and blind enough_ to throw away the best thing that ever happened in their life."

Kai agressively shakes his head in response, his breathing getting more erratic.

“I will always love you, my dear.” Soobin presses a kiss to Kai’s forehead before unwrapping Kai’s arms around him. “Even if you don’t feel the same way anymo--“

“You’re wrong.” Kai firmly says. Soobin looks down and sees the other boy glaring at him, hard.

 _“_ _Choi Soobin..._ _”_ Kai grits his teeth. “You are the most _stupid_ person in the entire planet!” He brings his fist to Soobin’s chest, holding onto him.

Soobin froze in his spot, astonished at the younger boy’s words.

“If you believe even for a second that I have ever stopped loving you then you are gravely mistaken.” Kai grips him shoulder firmly, tears still flowing from his eyes.

“Yes, you made a horrible mistake but it’s not like you haven’t spent the whole decade trying to make up for it. Through all the years, I’ve seen it firsthand how much it affected you. I have taken note of _every single effort_ you have made towards making it up to me.”

Soobin stands still, listening to the other boy intently. He was pretty sure his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

“It’s not like I was an angel to you either. I was in the wrong as well.” Kai admits. “Instead of being open and trying to be more accepting of your genuine apology, I shunned you away and forced you to have this _‘_ _rival_ _’_ act with me.”

“All those years...I made you want to hate me, to antagonize me, to see me as nothing but an enemy. I thought it would make the pain feel easier to deal with...but I was wrong.” Kai shudders. 

“When dealing with someone who hurt me deeply, I thought that the revenge was the best option. I was so foolish letting all that anger, resentment, and bitterness _poison_ me from the inside.” Kai’s voice wavers. “For so long, I wanted you to suffer as much as I did. But...I was never aware that by doing that, I was hurting myself even more.”

Kai looks at Soobin with determination. “I now know that forgiveness shouldn't be about the other person. It should be about me. In order to stop myself from getting hurt even more, I should have forgiven you sooner.”

“Which is why, I want to say to you right now with as much sincerity as I can muster...” Kai caresses the older boy’s cheeks.

“ **I forgive you, Choi Soobin.** I just hope you can forgive me too.”

Soobin’s bites his lower lip to prevent it from trembling. Kai’s words broke the dam in his eyes, tears finally flowing freely down his face. He feels like every single nerve on his body was being electrocuted. He recomposes himself and wipes Kai’s equally tear soaked cheeks for him.

“Of course I forgive you too, Kai.” He says softly.

“Really?”

“I could never be mad at you. It’s literally impossible for me.” Soobin says, chuckling a bit. Kai abruptly jumps into the other actor’s arms and sobs on his chest, effectively soaking the other boy’s clothes. Soobin rubs his back comfortingly.

“I’m so _so_ tired of acting like this.” Kai says in one breath. “I just wanna love you freely again. It’s all I ever wanted.”

Soobin kisses every part of Kai that he could reach. "Then do it." He murmurs into his skin.

For the first time in almost a decade, the two actors looked at each other without a single trace of animosity. Their eyes were filled with a certain fondness and adoration that they only had for each other. Their eyes flutter shyly down to the other's lips and back up to their eyes, as if asking for permission.

In unison, their lips curl to form a smile. It was a smile that meant, _‘_ _I know we_ _’_ _re gonna be okay._ _’_ They lean towards each other, the spotlight shining down on them.

With that, they reunite as one, their lips pressing hard against each other. The passion was comparable to a million exploding stars. Every single emotion felt through a decade of pain, suffering, longingness, heartbreak, and forgiveness was poured into that one kiss. Their eyes were closed the whole time, savoring the touch and feel of the other.

Outside, people watched through the small viewing windows on each door, mesmerized by the testament of love in front of them. Taehyun and Yeonjun gaze at each other, both in tears. They pull each other closer and share a hug of relief. Finally, those two actors will stop asking them for help to fix their love life.

A few heartbeats later, the two boys separate. But there wasn’t a trace of sadness or disappointment on their faces. Deep inside, they both knew that this wouldn’t be the last time they would kiss.

Soobin gazes at Kai with the most love a person can ever muster and whispers to him.

 **“** **I love you, Kai.** **”**

Kai grabs the hand on his cheek and presses the softest kiss to the palm before looking up at the other boy shyly.

 **“** **I love you more.** **”**

Soobin shakes his head. “I love you even more.”

Kai pouts at him. “No! I love you so much more.”

And the two continue to argue childishly, slipping in kisses between each argument as much as they can. The air around them feels a lot easier to breath in now. It took a long time for it to happen, but the both of them could finally say with full certainty that all was well.

Kai pauses, remembering something. “Wait, what about Yeji?”

Soobin laughs heartily, closing his eyes. “Don’t be mad but…it was just a plan to make you jealous.”

Kai playfully swats at him. “Are you kidding me, Choi Soobin? You really did all of that just to make me jealous?”

“Hey it’s not like you can talk!” Soobin grins. “Didn’t you plan today’s shoot as well? You thought you were sneaky but I easily saw your true intentions.”

Kai can’t help but laugh along with him. He gives Soobin another long kiss. “How about from now on, we stop making these stupid _‘plans’_ , and just be fully honest with each other and say what we really want?”

Soobin smirks, pressing another kiss to the other’s lips. “I would love that.”

* * *

**2 months later...**

Kai smooths out the creases on his new black Givenchy suit, adjusting the expensive clothing so that it fits perfectly and accentuates his broad shoulders. Using the sink, he wets his hand lightly to make an attempt to style his hair. After a few tries, he decides to give up and leave it in its unruly mess.

“What’cha doing?” Soobin’s voice startles him. The older boy was currently leaning against the door frame, sporting his Dolce and Gabbana suit, an amused look on his face.

Kai chuckles, meeting Soobin’s gaze on the reflection on his mirror. He points to the messy mop on his head. “Does it look okay? I wanna make sure I look good for our instagram live later.”

Soobin approaches him and slides his arms around Kai’s waist. He places his head on his boyfriend’s shoulders. The two of them look at their reflection in the mirror, smiling.

“I think you look perfect.” Soobin says honestly. He buries his face in Kai’s neck, pressing kisses to the skin softly. “You always look perfect.”

Kai rolls his eyes playfully, trying to ignore the quickening pace of his heartbeat. “I’m serious, hyung. Do you think it’s too _bushy?_ Are Instagram lives high quality enough to pick up my split-ends?” He gasps dramatically. “What if our fans see I have a gray hair!”

“Woah woah, calm your horses down.” Soobin comforts him. “Why are you worrying too much over your appearance? You’ve never been like this before.”

Kai gives him a defeated smile. “You’re right. I’m just… extra anxious about our show premiering tonight, I guess.”

 _“_ _Baby..._ _”_ Soobin coos. “We did the best that we could. Plus, critics who saw the first episode in advance gave us good reviews. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You know I don’t really care for critics.” Kai responds. “I care more about our fans. I just hope we don’t disappoint them.” He mutters, teeth chattering.

“They’re our fans, baby. They’re gonna love everything you put out because they know that you’re an amazing actor.” Soobin cooly replies. “And they know you poured out your heart and soul into every single project you do. They’ll do _anything_ to reciprocate that with their love, I guarantee you.”

Kai shoots him a challenging smile. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I’m your _number one fan_.” Soobin smoothly answers. “We all basically share the same mindset. So if you agree that you feel my love for you--“ He makes a point of smooching his boyfriend’s cheek. “--then you shouldn’t worry about it too much. Okay?”

Kai turns his head, facing his slightly taller boyfriend. He stares at him tenderly before leaning in to press their lips together.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“Stop, this isn’t going to end well again like last time.” Kai scolds him, sensing the back and forth they were going to have. “It took us 4 hours before you accidentally fell asleep and I won.”

“Well can you blame me?” Soobin looks at him, smirking and raising his eyebrows.

Kai glares at him for a second before pulling him closer and smashing their faces together. Their lips lock passionately, their hands flying to hold each other.

Suddenly, the bathroom door bursts open and the two actors hear a loud groan in response.

“Come on guys, can you _please_ not do it in the studio bathroom? This is a public place.” Yeonjun’s slightly disgusted voice startles them. The two boys chuckle at him but separate anyway.

“Is it almost time for the premiere?” Kai asks.

Yeonjun nods, tapping rapidly on his phone. “The station is ready so you guys should get on Instagram live right now and tell your followers to tune in.”

“Okay hyung, we’ll be out in a few.” Kai replies, winking at Soobin. “Or maybe in a while...” He adds, making Soobin giggle.

Yeonjun shakes his head disapprovingly but leaves them nevertheless, muttering about how their clients were perverts.

“Are you feeling better now?” Soobin asks, still concerned about his boyfriend. 

Kai nods. “It’s all thanks to you.” He grabs his phone to check the notifications with Soobin peeping from beside him. He notices Kai’s lockscreen was the picture of them at the pool back at Beomgyu’s party.

“Woah, I haven’t seen that picture in _so_ long.” Soobin comments. Kai chuckles, showing Soobin the full picture.

“That’s crazy, we looked so tiny back then…” Soobin trails off and smiles to himself, starting to reminisce about the past.

“Hey, do you remember what we were talking about that day?” Kai questions, recalling his own memories.

Soobin hums. “I think we were talking about our future and promising to settle down in Hawaii?”

Kai snickers. “Ah yes, we were such _fools_ back then, don’t you think? Kinda sad our jobs make us way too busy to be able to do that...” He trails off sadly.

“What if we do it?” Soobin says out loud. His boyfriend looks at him in confusion, raising his eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“What if we stay in Hawaii? I mean, at least for a little while.” Soobin replies firmly. “We’ve been working in the industry for more than 5 years already. Don’t we deserve a much needed break?”

Soobin moves closer and holds his boyfriend by the waist. “Plus, I’ve been meaning to make up for all the lost time we had.” 

A ten thousand watt smile lights up Kai’s face. “Omygod, are we really doing this?” He asks.

“Only if you want to.” Soobin responds, pressing his lips to Kai’s forehead. “I’ll follow you wherever you go.”

“Ah, as expected from my gum.” Kai jokes. A beat later, his face contorts back to one of unsureness. “I don’t know hyung…”

“Come on baby, can you at least consider it?” Soobin whines cutely. “Just imagine us on the beach! We can do everything you want to do and after that when we go home…I can do everything _I want to do_.” He whispers huskily, wiggling his eyebrows.

Heat rushes to Kai’s face, and gives his boyfriend a light smack. “Y—You’re such a pervert!”

“What? I _obviously_ meant cuddling time with you.” Soobin innocently says. “What else were you thinking about?”

“N—nothing…” Kai turns his cheek, shyly looking away. This gives Soobin an opportunity to place another kiss to cheek. “Come on Kai, just think about it…It’s a chance for us to make our shared dream come true.”

Kai bites his lip in hesitation. Soobin did have a point. This was their chance to fulfill one of their shared dreams. And Kai really did want to take a break from acting. He gives the older boy a playful smile before giving in.

“Y’know what? Life is short. Fine, let’s do it!” He giggles. Soobin fist pumps the air in celebration. The two hug each other tightly, feeling ecstatic and excited about their future plans.

"I can't wait to be in paradise with you and only you." Soobin mumbles near Kai's ears, nibbling his earlobe playfully. Kai blushes, thinking about all the things they can do at Hawaii. It felt like the right decision to make.

Kai’s phone jolts them out of their thoughts. He checks it, a bit annoyed. He sighs loudly when he sees it’s a message from his manager.

“Yeonjun-hyung says if we don’t get our butts back into the viewing room, he’s going to quit.” He reads out loud.

The two snicker at his weak threat. “Yeah, we should probably head out.”

“One more for the road?” Soobin grins. Kai gets ahead of him and presses one last peck before they go to the premiere. Upon exiting the bathroom, Soobin grabs his phone and begins his instagram live.

“Hey guys, it’s Soobin!” He waves cheerily at his phone. “Is anyone else super excited for the show premiere tonight? Be sure to use the hashtag #LoveIsWarEp1 and live tweet your reactions with us!”

Kai giggles at his cute boyfriend, leaning out of the frame so the camera won’t catch him. When he starts to feel anxious again, he recalls the other’s comforting words.

 _‘_ _The fans are gonna love this because they love you._ _’_

Kai feels immensely better.

* * *

Kai’s eyes move repeatedly from the big screen their studio had set up and back down to his phone where he was reading an endless stream of tweets from the live tweeting event. Just like Soobin had promised, the fans were all in love with the show.

Their fans were tweeting things like...

> **Kai** **-oppa’** **s acting is sooooo good**
> 
> **Soobin-oppa looks so handsome** **ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ**
> 
> **Their chemistry is crazy, I** **’** **m impressed** **ㅇㅁㅇ**
> 
> **ㅋㅋㅋ This show is funny**

...amongst many more. But what really caught Kai’s attention was one particular tweet.

> **Seeing these two really inspires me to be an actor myself! ^o^**

Kai’s heart swells up in adoration, he presses the heart button on the tweet and replies a _‘thank you’_ to him. He focuses back on his surroundings and smiles tenderly at the cast celebrating. It was such an amazing feeling seeing all your hard work getting recognized.

After reading a few more tweets, he turns his phone off and joins everyone in celebrating. Tonight was going to be one hell of a night.

A few hours into the party, Yeonjun pulls him outside. He was starinh at Kai with a weird expression and he was gripping his phone tightly. He hasn’t seen his manager look this spooked before.

“Woah, are you okay?” Kai asks worriedly.

Yeonjun takes a deep breath and points at his phone. “Don’t freak out at what I’m about say okay?”

Kai nods.

“I currently have THE Bong Joon Ho waiting on the other line. He watched the premier and he said wants to talk to you!” Yeonjun says quickly in one breath. Kai latches dramatically to Yeonjun and the wall beside them, his legs giving out at the news.

“Are you fucking serious?” Kai covers his mouth, feeling every nerve on his body react. Yeonjun nods furiously, even he himself can’t help but hyperventilate.

“Are you gonna be okay? I can stay with you if you want.” Yeonjun proposes. Kai shakes his head.

“It’s fine hyung, I think I can do this one alone.”

Kai felt like he was on cloud nine. He just cannot wrap his head around the fact that his hero had watched _his_ show. He wants to dance, cry, laugh, or a mixture of all three. He’s never felt this accomplished before.

“I’m ready hyung.”

Yeonjun hands the phone over to him and gives his client one last comforting pat on the back before giving them some privacy. Kai mentally prepares himself first, shaking his limbs and doing various power poses. Once he felt a bit more confident, he finally unmutes the phone call.

“Sir? It’s Huening Kai.” He speaks up, trying to not make the quiver in his voice obvious.

Immediately, he was met with the loud cheer of the famous director on the other end.

“Huening Kai! I wanted to talk to you as soon as I could.” Bong Joon-Ho chuckles. “I just watched the premier of your show and kid, I am absolutely _blown away_ by your acting.”

Kai bites his fist, trying to silence his screams. “Really, sir? Ah, I’m so grateful you enjoyed it.” He squeals. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you liked my performance.”

“I loved it! But that’s not the only reason why I called.” He says mysteriously. Kai swallows thickly, his palms sweating. What other reason could there be?

“I have a new movie in production and I want YOU to be a part of it.”

Kai gasps, almost dropping his manager’s phone. A new Bong Joon-Ho movie? And THE Bong Joon-Ho wants him to be a part of it? Words just cannot describe what Kai feeling at the present. His hero was currently offering him the chance to be a part of his film.

“I—I don’t know what to say...” Kai breathily answers. He stands still for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts before proceeding.

Suddenly, he remembers the trip to Hawaii that he and Soobin had planned.

“May I ask when this will be happening?”

“It starts around next month. We’re already at the finalizing stages in pre-production, involving casting, logistics and others.” The director answers. “So, what do you say?”

 _‘_ _Shit._ _’_ Kai curses in his mind. _‘_ _What the hell am I gonna do now?_ _’_ He circles the hallway restlessly, trying to make up his mind. He stomps on the ground firmly. His heart had already been set on living with Soobin in Hawaii, should he give all that up for this opportunity to work with his favorite director?

 _‘_ _Is this what Soobin felt back then?_ _’_ Kai wonders. Speaking of the devil, Soobin pops out from one of the doors, his cheeks rounded up as he chewed on the snacks from their party. His eyes looked at his boyfriend with curiosity, wondering what got him so worked up over. He gives Kai the widest smile he could and clenches his fist, mouthing the tiniest _“Fighting!”_ he could muster.

Kai wonders what Soobin would tell him. Maybe he’ll beg him to not go through with it? Or maybe he’ll be supportive and say it’s okay for him to go through with this movie production which might take more than a year.

“Hello? Are you still there?” Bong Joon Ho’s voice knocks him back to reality.

Kai scrambles to answer him back. “Ah yes sir! I—I apologize.”

“It’s all right, kid. So, what is your answer?”

Kai takes one final look at his boyfriend at the door before turning his back to him. He holds the phone tightly, ready to answer.

“My answer is...”

* * *

**A month later...**

Soobin sits alone on one the benches at Incheon International Airport. It was currently 30 minutes before the flight to Hawaii. The actor wore a hoodie, with a matching cap and facemask trying to make himself invisible. He’s doing this not only to avoid Dispatch but also to make it easier to cry without anyone else noticing.

He sighs deeply, watching his sad reflection on the black screen on his phone. He feels like the news hadn’t sunk in with him yet. The more the news articles kept popping up, the more his heart kept on getting stomped to the ground.

He turns it back on, expecting to find at least something that will cheer him up or distract him at best. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come. Even his twitter timeline where he follows some of his fans are all saying similar things.

> **I feel bad for Soobin-ah…** **ㅜㅜㅜ**
> 
> **Soobin-ah, let’s stay strong okay?** **ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ**
> 
> **It was such a selfish decision, I hope Soobin-oppa isn’t too hurt by it.**

His fists curl up into a ball, holding himself back from punching the bench. He can’t lie and say that he wasn’t expecting this to happen but he had no idea how painful it would be. He just wants the ground to swallow him up already.

 _‘_ _The world is so unfair..._ _’_ Soobin decides, before putting his head in his hands, unable to take it anymore. His emotions get the better of him and he starts to weep silently, not even caring if anyone within the vicinity notices him.

“ _Jeez,_ you couldn’t wait for your tteokbokki?”

Kai’s voice startles him out of his depressive state. He looks up and sees his boyfriend holding out a cup of his favorite food for him.

Soobin gives him a pout, shaking his head and taking the cup shyly. Kai squints at his teary-eyed boyfriend before sitting down to join him.

“What’s wrong? I literally just left for like 5 minutes to get us some snacks.” Kai chuckles, munching on his egg tarts.

To answer him, Soobin grabs his phone and shows Kai an article from Billboard about his favorite artist, Bebe Rexha.

> ** POP EMERGENCY: ** **Bebe Rexha Delays Album Release Until** **‘** **The World Is in a Better Place** **’**

Kai reads each word aloud, rolling his eyes upon finishing. Beside him, Soobin crumples at his words, groaning loudly. It was like he was reliving the pain all over again. Kai readjusts their luggage making sure his boyfriend don’t accidentally kick it or something.

“Come on now... don’t feel too bad.” Kai tries to comfort him. “Doesn’t this mean she can have more time to make a higher quality album?

Soobin crosses his arms. “That’s the thing, I don’t care about the quality. She can release her _fart_ as a single and I would _still_ buy it.” He says with a serious tone. “She should just release her album as soon as she can.”

Kai gives him a soft smack on the arm. “Hey! Don’t be selfish.” He snickers. “Your favorite artist should be the one to decide when she’ll be ready. Just remember that everything she does is for her fans, which includes you.”

Soobin sits still, soaking up Kai’s words. He grabs Kai’s free hand and presses a kiss to the back of his hand.

“Fine. You’re right, baby.” He mutters.

Kai sends him a smug smile. “I always am.”

Soobin rolls his eyes but couldn’t help but smile back. He bites his lip, fiddling with his fingers anxiously. He’s still a bit amazed at what happened a few weeks ago.

Apparently, back at their premiere party, Bong Joon-Ho had called his boyfriend and offered him a role in his new movie. But for some reason, Kai had rejected his invitation. To say Soobin was shocked to hear that Kai had chosen him would be an understatement. After all this time, he finally beat Bong Joon-Ho for Kai’s attention.

“Baby?” Soobin starts. His boyfriend looks at him, humming in response.

“Yeah?”

“I’d… just like to say thank you again.” Soobin expresses. “I know it wasn’t an easy decision for you to make. God knows, I know that feeling. But...thank you for choosing me in the end.”

Kai reciprocates Soobin’s smile.

“I would choose you forever and always, Choi Soobin.” Kai proclaims. “Don’t you forget that.”

The older actor looks at him in amazement. He truly felt incredibly fortunate to have this person back in his life. Which is why Soobin promises himself to try to never hurt him again and he _means it_. There was only one thing he could ever do to make it up to him: to be his gum and stay by his side until the very end.

Suddenly, the speakers announce that their flight was ready. They stand up and take a hold of their luggage.

“You ready?” Kai grins at him, opening up his hand and ready to take the other boy. Soobin accepts the offer and presses a delicate kiss to his knuckles. 

Together, they walk hand in hand towards the line and make their way slowly inside the plane. Once making sure their extra bags had been put away safely, Kai collapses on the seat near the aisle, immediately taking solace on Soobin’s shoulder. The pre-flight safety briefing starts but the both of them are too tired to listen to it.

“You want me to wake you up when we land, baby boy?” Soobin asks gently.

Kai gives him an affirmative _‘_ _mhm_ _’_ and wraps himself around Soobin’s arm, making himself comfortable. He grabs his boyfriend’s hand, interlacing their fingers together. Soobin chuckles at the other boy, appreciating the sunset casting its golden hue on the both of them.

If you asked Soobin a few years ago where he thinks he would be at around this time, he would have answered something along the lines of being in a big role for a film or winning a major category at an award show. He wouldn’t even have anything to say about any future relationship, knowing at that point it was impossible to reach.

He truly was not expecting to rekindle his relationship with the love of his life. The road to reach their current point was long and harsh. For a while, it only seemed like a dream to him. A foolish one at that. But, it was a dream he was most thankful he never gave up on.

With his other hand, Soobin plays with the ring box inside his jacket pocket. He has a new dream in mind, one that he’s hoping he can turn into reality as well. All he needed was a bit of courage and perseverance. He closes his eyes, succumbing to drowsiness.

“ **We will be arriving at our destination: Hilo International Airport, Hawaii, in about 10 hours. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.”**

The plane takes off and they fly into the sunset.

_fin ❤_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!
> 
> you guys it's finally finished... lemme just (╯ ͡╥ ︹ ͡╥)╯┻━┻
> 
> this is my first ever fic that i finished and i couldn't be happier. i am beyond thankful for everyone who clicked and read what i've written for the past 2 months. i feel very honored and grateful, and i do hope that it entertained you even at least a tiny bit. also, i hope you guys are happy with the ending aaa 
> 
> ⊂(◉̃ ω◉̃)⊃ also p.s. how was the small scare near the end of the fic? hahaha bet you expected Kai to take BJH's invitation huh? 
> 
> with the end of this fic, i've also decided to take a break for a while to rest and catch up on my other hobbies bc this one was really taking up a lot of the time skdjfskjd i would most likely be back on our Huening Kai's birthday on August 14 (woohoo go Leos!) with a one shot. my next chaptered fic/series will be a Tyunning pairing and i'm beyond excited for you guys to read it soon. (ง ╯ ω ╰ )ง
> 
> anyway, feel free to ask me any questions in relation to Love Is War series and i will answer them immediately. ٩( ◎ ᴗ ◎ ԅ)
> 
> i've also received questions about wanting to translate the series, please do dm me on my twitter @tokyocherry_twt so we can discuss it properly ^__^. 
> 
> once again, thank you guys for reading!  
> i'd love to hear your thoughts below T^T and any kudos is greatly appreciated! ✍(>︣ ᴗ <᷅)
> 
> ❤️🌸


End file.
